EUROSTARS┋EUREKA & European Commission Joint Programme
The National Funding Bodies from Austria, Belgium (Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia), Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom have allocated funding for organisations collaborating on international R&D projects.
What Eurostars is
Eurostars is a funding instrument that supports innovative SMEs and project partners (large companies, universities, research organisations and other types of organisations) by funding international collaborative R&D and innovation projects. By participating, organisations can access public funding for international collaborative R&D projects in all fields.
To have a successful Eurostars application you must:
- Define your project idea.
- Collaborate internationally, sharing expertise.
- Develop products, processes or services that can be easily commercialised.
You can submit your R&D and innovation project application between 16 January 2026 and 19 March 2026 at 14:00 CET using our project platform (myeurekaproject.org). Your project consortium must have an innovative SME in the leading role, but it can also include other types of organisations like large companies, universities, research organisations and more.
Available funding
Please note that the European Commission co-funding is pending signature.
The amount of funding your organisation receives when you participate in a project is managed by your National Funding Body. Funding rules vary from country to country and your National Funding Body decides:
- which organisations can receive funding,
- which project activities can be funded
- and funding rates.
If you are from a Eurostars country, you can discover what funding is available for your organisation in our ‘Country information’ section below, and by contacting your national or regional funding body using our contact form. Your National Funding Body may have maximum funding amount per project or project partner.
Organisations from non-Eurostars countries can participate by self-funding their project costs.
Timeline
- 16 January 2026: Call opens
- 19 March 2026, 14:00 CET: Deadline
Who can apply
To apply, you must meet seven international eligibility criteria:
- The project consortium is led by an innovative SME from a Eurostars country.
- The project consortium is composed of at least two entities that are independent of one another.
- The project consortium is composed of entities from at least two Eurostars countries with at least one organisation coming from an EU or Horizon Europe Associated Country
- The budget of the SMEs from the Eurostars countries (excluding any subcontracting) is 50% or more of the total project cost.
- No single participant or country is responsible for more than 70% of the budget of the project.
- The project duration is 36 months or less.
- The project has an exclusive focus on civil applications.
You can find more information and definitions of the terms used in these criteria in the detailed Eurostars guidelines in the Resource Library.
Check your financial viability
Our tool indicates whether you have the financial capacity to support your costs in the project.
Check your financial viability
Important note
Please read these guidelines before submitting a project application. If you do not meet all our international eligibility criteria, your application will be rejected. Additionally, you might need to fulfil national or regional eligibility criteria. Please check with your national or regional funding body.
