EUREKA and Eurostars partners: Hungary’s next co-funding cut-off is 15 October, Portugal’s is 29 December 2026

EUREKA and Eurostars partners: Hungary’s next co-funding cut-off is 15 October, Portugal’s is 29 December 2026

30 September 2026: EUREKA and Eurostars are European networks for international, company-led R&D projects. A consortium's project is approved at network level, but each partner is funded by its own country. Two national funders publish dates this autumn that software and technology firms in such projects need to know: Hungary's research and innovation office, NKFIH, and Portugal's innovation agency, ANI.

Hungary: next cut-off 15 October 2026

NKFIH's call 2025-1.2.2-EUREKA supports Hungarian participation in EUREKA projects. Its page lists the next submission deadline as 15 October 2026, with evaluation of applications received by then starting on 16 October and expected to end on 30 November. Further cut-offs follow on 15 January, 15 April, 15 July and 15 October 2027, and electronic submission closes at 16:00 on 15 October 2027.

• Amounts stated: 20 to 70 million forints per project, from a call budget of 450 million forints.
• What it funds: applied industrial research and experimental development, as a grant.
• Who can apply: firms, SMEs especially, based in Hungary or in the European Economic Area with a Hungarian branch. They need at least one closed full business year and double-entry bookkeeping. They must also be a partner in an EUREKA project confirmed by Hungary's national EUREKA project coordinator.

Portugal: applications until 29 December 2026

ANI's notice MPR-2026-4, SIID Internacionalização de I&D, funds industrial R&D operations at European scale. It supports Portuguese partners in EUREKA Clusters and Network projects and in Eurostars. Applications opened on 30 April 2026 and close on 29 December 2026. They are decided in phases, with cut-offs at 17:00 on 30 June, 30 September and 29 December 2026, so the next batch is the one closing on 29 December.

• Who can apply: micro, small and medium enterprises and small mid-caps, alone or together with non-business R&I bodies.
• Where: projects in all mainland NUTS II regions (Norte, Centro, Lisboa, Alentejo and Algarve), placed where the investment is made.
• Budget: 10 million euros in total, of which 7 million comes from COMPETE 2030, 2 million from the Algarve programme and 1 million from the Lisbon programme.
• Rates: the page lists maximum co-financing rates of 80% and, for Lisbon, 40%.

What to do

• Hungarian partners with an EUREKA project confirmed by the national coordinator have until 15 October for the next evaluation round; later applications wait for 15 January 2027.
• Portuguese SMEs in an approved EUREKA or Eurostars consortium can still apply in the phase closing on 29 December; check which regional programme your investment falls under, since the Lisbon rate is lower.
• Firms not yet in a consortium cannot use either call directly: the first step is joining an EUREKA or Eurostars project.

Sources

• NKFIH (National Research, Development and Innovation Office): 2025-1.2.2-EUREKA call for proposals, Hungarian participation in the EUREKA programme (read 30 September 2026) - 30 September 2026
• ANI (Agência Nacional de Inovação): SIID Internacionalização de I&D, operações de I&D industrial à escala europeia, notice MPR-2026-4 (read 30 September 2026) - 30 September 2026