EU Commission commits €347m to submarine cable security
The European Commission is stepping up efforts to protect submarine data cables, the backbone of global connectivity, with a new security toolbox and a fresh round of funding. The move comes as concerns grow over disruptions, sabotage and geopolitical risks affecting undersea infrastructure around Europe.
For eeNews Europe readers, this matters because submarine cables underpin cloud services, industrial connectivity, data centers and cross-border digital services. Stronger protection and new investment directly affect network resilience, system availability and future infrastructure planning across Europe.
Security toolbox and priority cable projects
At the core of the announcement is a new EU Cable Security Toolbox, which sets out six strategic measures and four technical and support actions to mitigate risks to submarine cable infrastructure. Moreover, the toolbox builds on an EU-wide risk assessment published in October 2025 that identified threats, vulnerabilities and dependencies linked to undersea cables.
Alongside the toolbox, the Commission unveiled a list of 13 Cable Projects of European Interest (CPEIs). These priority areas will guide public funding over three five-year phases running to 2040, with the goal of strengthening the resilience and security of Europe’s submarine cable network. CPEIs will be prioritized in upcoming Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Digital calls and will also influence funding plans under the next Multiannual Financial Framework.
The Commission and Member States developed both the toolbox and the CPEI list through a dedicated Submarine Cable Infrastructure Expert Group.
€347m allocated under CEF Digital
To support these measures, the Commission has amended the CEF Digital Work Programme to allocate €347 million to strategic submarine cable projects. Meanwhile, the funding will support CPEIs, expand Europe’s cable repair capacity and promote the deployment of ‘smart’ cable technologies.
In 2026, two calls worth €60 million will fund cable repair modules, while a separate €20 million call will support SMART cable system equipment. These systems integrate sensors and monitoring components into telecom cables to collect real-time oceanographic and seismic data. Additional CPEI-focused calls in 2026 and 2027 will account for €267 million.
Focus on faster repairs and Baltic Sea risks
A €20 million call opening today targets adaptable submarine cable repair modules that can be deployed at ports or shipyards to speed up service restoration. This pilot phase focuses on the Baltic Sea, where cable disruptions have increased in recent years, raising concerns about hostile actions. Eligible applicants include public bodies with emergency response mandates, such as coastguards, civil protection authorities and military navies.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said: “With today’s new actions, the EU continues to demonstrate that we can quickly respond to rising threats in an unstable geopolitical environment. We now have a common approach agreed with Member States for security risks faced by submarine cables and measures to mitigate those risks and areas requiring reinforcement as a priority. We will continue working with Member States and other stakeholders to counter threats and invest in these critical infrastructures – key to our technological sovereignty and the resilience of our connected societies.”
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