The European Commission allocates €20 million to strengthen the safety of submarine cables in Europe.

RIGA, October 23, 2025 - The European Commission announced today an important 20 million euro financing package intended for Strengthening the safety of European submarine cables, fundamental infrastructures for the global digital connectivity and for technological sovereignty of the European Union.

The measure, presented by the Executive Vice President Henna Virkkunen in Riga, falls within the “Digital Europe” program and provides targeted interventions to strengthen the resilience of submarine cable networks, improve the ability to respond to cyber threats and increase the strategic communications security of the EU.

Two lines of financing for a total of 20 million euros

The first intervention, worth 10 million euro, will be managed by the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC), the Union body responsible for managing cybersecurity funds.
The goal is the creation of regional cable hubs, that is, centers specialized in constant monitoring of networks, capable of using artificial intelligence tools for detect any anomalies or attacks in real time and to allow a faster and more coordinated response in case of accidents or sabotage.

The first pilot hub will be made in Nordic-Baltic region, chosen for its strategic location and high level of technological development.

Added to this is a second call, also from 10 million euro, expected from Regulation on Cybersolidarity, aimed at Strengthen the preparedness and resilience testing of critical infrastructureThis measure aims to simulate crisis situations and verify the response capacity of European security systems.

Virkkunen: "We are investing in our digital life jackets."

«These new EU funding opportunities will help us strengthen the resilience of Europe's submarine cable networks, our digital lifelines.", he has declared Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Technological sovereignty, security and democracy.
«Investing in regional cable hubs and improving stress testing, we are strengthening our capacity to detect, prevent and respond to threatsThe new expert report provides the basis for this work, providing a comprehensive overview of Europe's cable infrastructure and the key risks we must address together."

A complete mapping of infrastructure and risks

During the meeting, the Vice President also presented the new report from the cable expert group, published today, which provides an updated map of existing and developing infrastructuresa whirlpool bath, risk assessment e guidelines for conducting resilience tests and stress tests.

The document is part of the strategic objectives of the EU Cable Safety Action Plan, adopted in February 2025, which aims to ensure an integrated approach to the security of communication infrastructures, based on five fundamental pillars:
prevention, detection, response, recovery and deterrence.

420 million already invested in connectivity projects

The European Union has already allocated 420 million euro to the realization of 51 projects within the Global Digital Gateway, across the Connecting Europe Digital Facility (CEF Digital).
These projects support the construction and modernisation of secure, sustainable and resilient connectivity networks in Europe and partner countries, with the aim of promote European technological leadership and guarantee a stable and independent digital network.

According to the Commission, a new wave of projects will be launched in the coming months, further expanding the international cooperation network and strengthening the EU's role as global player in the field of cybersecurity and strategic telecommunications.

An investment in Europe's digital security and sovereignty

With this new funding, the European Union aims to consolidate its technological autonomy and to protect their digital infrastructures from physical and cyber threats increasingly sophisticated.
In a geopolitical context marked by tensions and global technological competition, the protection of submarine cables — which carry more than 95% of the world's Internet data — print bar is a strategic priority for the security and continuity of European digital services.