Deadline: 07-May-2026
The European Commission is inviting applications under EUAF-2026 Technical Assistance to strengthen the fight against fraud, corruption, and other illegal activities affecting the financial interests of the European Union. With a total budget of EUR 10.8 million, the call supports digital forensic tools, investigative equipment, IT systems, staff exchanges, training, and cross-border cooperation for eligible public authorities, international organisations, research bodies, and non-profits.
Overview
The EUAF-2026 Technical Assistance call is designed to improve the ability of national authorities and eligible institutions to detect, investigate, and prevent fraud and related crimes that harm the EU budget and financial resources.
This funding mainly supports:
- Stronger investigative capacity
- Better digitalisation of anti-fraud systems
- More effective cross-border cooperation
- Access to specialised equipment and IT tools
- Better data exchange and operational coordination
- Training and knowledge-sharing across departments
The programme is especially relevant for organisations working on anti-fraud enforcement, digital forensics, customs control, financial crime investigations, and EU budget protection.
Key Funding Details
- Programme: European Union Anti-Fraud Programme (EUAF)
- Call: EUAF-2026 Technical Assistance
- Funding Body: European Commission
- Total Budget: EUR 10,800,000
- Minimum Grant Amount: EUR 100,000
- Maximum Grant Amount: EUR 1,620,000
- Maximum Share per Project: Up to 15% of the total call budget
What the Grant Supports
The programme supports practical actions that strengthen anti-fraud investigations and operational cooperation.
Main focus areas
- Reinforcing the investigative capability and capacity of national authorities
- Supporting the digitalisation of anti-fraud work
- Enhancing transnational and multidisciplinary cooperation
- Providing specialised equipment and IT tools
- Boosting staff exchanges for specific projects
- Supporting national investigations
- Building IT capacity
- Increasing data exchange
- Organising specialised training
- Holding workshops, conferences, and studies to improve cooperation and coordination
Examples of eligible actions
- Acquisition of digital forensic equipment
- Purchase of digital forensic software
- Acquisition of mobile forensic tools
- Installation of computer forensic collaborative systems
- Upgrading or updating existing software systems
- Training staff to properly use forensic and IT tools
- Supporting cross-border operational cooperation
- Facilitating exchange of best practices between authorities
Why This Grant Matters
Fraud, corruption, and financial crime increasingly involve digital evidence, international networks, and cross-border transactions.
This grant helps organisations:
- Improve forensic and investigative technology
- Strengthen digital anti-fraud capacity
- Increase cooperation between authorities
- Improve evidence handling and data analysis
- Support faster and more effective investigations
- Protect EU public funds and revenue systems
In short, this is a strong funding opportunity for organisations that need modern digital tools and operational support to fight fraud affecting the European Union.
Who is Eligible?
Eligible applicants
- National public authorities
- Regional public authorities
- International organisations whose task is to protect EU financial interests
- Research institutes
- Educational institutes
- Non-profit entities
Eligibility conditions
Applicants must:
- Be a legal entity
- Be established and operating for at least one year
Eligible countries
Applicants must be based in:
- An EU Member State (including overseas countries and territories)
- A listed EEA country
- A country associated with the EUAF Programme
- A country negotiating an association agreement with the EUAF Programme, provided the agreement is in force before grant signature
What Does “Protecting EU Financial Interests” Mean?
This phrase is central to the programme.
It refers to protecting the EU’s budget, revenues, and public resources from losses caused by:
- Fraud
- Corruption
- Misuse of funds
- Financial crime
- Illegal activities affecting EU-funded programmes
- Customs or tax-related offences
- Digital evidence-related financial investigations
Your proposal should clearly show how the project improves the detection, prevention, or investigation of these risks.
How to Apply
Use the official European Commission application system and call documents. A simple approach is:
- Check eligibility
- Confirm your organisation type, country, and one-year operating requirement.
- Identify the anti-fraud need
- Define the exact problem, such as weak digital forensics, outdated software, or limited cross-border coordination.
- Align with the call priorities
- Make sure your project directly supports investigative capacity, digitalisation, forensic tools, or cooperation.
- Prepare a clear project design
- Explain activities, equipment or systems needed, timeline, staff roles, and expected results.
- Show operational impact
- Describe how the project will improve investigations, data-sharing, or fraud detection.
- Build a realistic budget
- Keep the funding request between EUR 100,000 and EUR 1,620,000.
- Submit all required documents
- Complete the official forms, annexes, and supporting materials before the deadline.
Tips for a Strong Proposal
- Focus on a clear operational problem
- Explain why the equipment or software is needed
- Show how the project improves real investigations
- Highlight cross-border cooperation
- Include a strong digitalisation angle
- Link all activities to protecting EU financial interests
- Make the budget practical and well justified
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Submitting a vague or overly broad project idea
- Not explaining how the equipment will be used
- Weak link to EU financial interests
- Ignoring the cross-border cooperation element
- Poor budget explanation
- Missing the connection between training and operational outcomes
- Failing to show measurable anti-fraud impact
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is EUAF-2026 Technical Assistance?
It is a European Commission funding call under the European Union Anti-Fraud Programme (EUAF) that supports projects to strengthen anti-fraud investigations, digital forensic capacity, and cooperation between authorities.
How much funding is available?
The total budget is EUR 10,800,000.
Grant size:
- Minimum: EUR 100,000
- Maximum: EUR 1,620,000
What kinds of equipment can be funded?
Eligible actions may include:
- Digital forensic equipment
- Forensic software
- Mobile forensic tools
- Computer forensic collaboration systems
- Software updates and maintenance
- Staff training related to these tools
Who can apply?
Eligible applicants include:
- National or regional public authorities
- International organisations protecting EU financial interests
- Research institutes
- Educational institutes
- Non-profit entities
Is cross-border cooperation important?
Yes. The call strongly encourages:
- Cross-border operational cooperation
- Transnational collaboration
- Exchange of best practices
- Staff exchanges
What makes a strong application?
A strong application clearly shows:
- A real investigative or digital capacity gap
- Direct alignment with the call priorities
- Practical use of tools or systems
- Cross-border relevance
- Clear benefits for protecting EU financial interests
Conclusion
The EUAF-2026 Technical Assistance call is a valuable funding opportunity for organisations that want to strengthen anti-fraud investigations, digital forensic capability, and operational cooperation across Europe.
With EUR 10.8 million available, the programme supports equipment, software, IT upgrades, training, and cross-border collaboration that can directly improve how authorities detect and investigate fraud, corruption, and other illegal activities affecting the European Union’s financial interests.
For more information, visit European commission.