EU Launches Regional Cable Hubs to Protect Critical Undersea Infrastructure

23 June 2026

The European Commission will grant €5.8 million to establish the first two Regional Cable Hubs, in the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It is also launching today a €40 million call to increase European capacity to repair submarine communication cables. These two actions contribute to the delivery of the EU Action Plan on Cable Security, supporting the security and resilience of Europe's critical submarine data and energy cables, and enhancing our collective capacity to monitor, detect, and respond to threats targeting critical undersea infrastructure.

Receiving €2.5 million, a Baltic Sea Regional Hub will reinforce regional surveillance and response mechanisms. The project will strengthen national and cross-border security operations centers, enhance information-sharing platforms, and improve the capacity to detect and prevent threats to critical marine infrastructure in this particularly sensitive area. Finland will coordinate the hub alongside Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, and Sweden.

In the Mediterranean region, a Hub backed by €3.3 million in funding will combine shared procedures and decision-making structures with a federated technological platform, enabling near real-time information exchange, anomaly detection, and coordinated incident response across borders. Italy will coordinate the hub alongside Greece, Cyprus, and Malta.

The European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC) plays a central role in establishing these hubs across the EU by managing the call for proposals and awarding the grants.

Funded by the Connecting Europe Facility – CEF Digital, the objective of the new €40 million call launched today is to ensure a swift and effective response to major submarine cable disruptions in emergency situations. Focused on the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and other sea basins, it funds adaptable modules, which will be strategically positioned to serve these sea basins. The modules can be rapidly installed and deployed by existing repair vessels, at the request of the new Regional Surveillance Hubs or other competent authorities.

This follows a first pilot call worth €20 million, launched in spring 2026 to finance repair modules in the Baltic Sea.

A new call will open in autumn this year to establish regional cable hubs in sea basins not yet covered, or for other Member States to join the two newly established Regional Cable Hubs. The grant is awarded under a call for proposals managed by the ECCC, with funds under the Digital Europe Programme.

Applicants to the CEF Digital call can submit proposals until October 8, 2026 (17:00 CEST).

Following incidents involving undersea cables in the Baltic region, the Commission issued an EU Action Plan on Cable Security in February 2025. With these first Regional Cable Hubs, Europe is strengthening its capacity to build a near real-time situational picture in a sea basin.

Under the current CEF Digital multiannual Work Programme (2024–2027), a total of €533 million is allocated to submarine cable projects, with €186 million already awarded to 25 projects. From 2021 to 2024, CEF Digital provided €420 million to 51 backbone cable connectivity projects.

“With the first regional cable hubs in the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean, and funding for cable repair capabilities, Europe is moving to enhanced capabilities. We are strengthening our ability to detect threats, act faster and respond together. This is Europe investing in its own security, resilience and sovereignty. The proposals for the two hubs are ambitious and reflect a clear commitment from the Member States involved to ensure greater cooperation in the face of new security realities.”