Eurostars Call for Projects – March 2026

Eurostars is a key European funding programme supporting innovative SMEs that want to carry out international collaborative R&D and innovation projects. It forms part of the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs and is co-funded through Horizon Europe, with participating countries allocating national funding to successful project partners.

Unlike topic-driven calls, Eurostars is bottom-up and sector agnostic, meaning you can apply with an innovation in any field, as long as it has a clear route to commercialisation and is led by an innovative SME.

What Eurostars is designed to support

Eurostars funds projects that:

• are led by an innovative SME from a Eurostars country
• involve international collaboration, with partners from at least two Eurostars countries
• focus on developing new or significantly improved products, processes or services
• have a clear and realistic plan for commercialisation

The emphasis is not just on technical excellence, but on delivering results that can reach the market within a reasonable timeframe.

Funding model and project scope

Eurostars uses a national funding model. Each partner applies for funding through their own national or regional funding body, which determines:

• which organisations can receive funding
• which activities are eligible
• the applicable funding rates

Projects can last up to 36 months and must focus exclusively on civil applications. At least 50% of the total project budget must be allocated to SMEs from Eurostars countries, and no single country or participant may account for more than 70% of the total project budget.

Organisations from non-Eurostars countries may participate on a self-funded basis.

Who can apply

To be eligible, your project must meet seven international criteria, including:

• leadership by an innovative SME from a Eurostars country
• a consortium of at least two independent entities
• partners from at least two Eurostars countries, with at least one from an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country
• a strong SME budget share and balanced consortium structure

Consortia may include SMEs, large companies, universities, research organisations and other eligible partners.