HORIZON-MISS-2025-03-OCEAN-04: Restoring Ocean and Waters in Regions

HORIZON-MISS-2025-03-OCEAN-04 focuses on large-scale, place-based restoration of coastal and freshwater ecosystems in European regions. The call supports collaborative projects that integrate nature-based solutions, pollution reduction, and circular economy practices to restore biodiversity while enhancing climate resilience. It contributes to the implementation of the Biodiversity Strategy, the Zero Pollution Action Plan, and regional sustainable development priorities. 

Objectives: 

Projects are expected to deliver: 

• Tangible, place-based contributions to the restoration of freshwater and coastal ecosystems, the reduction of pollution, and the development of circular, carbon-neutral, blue economy practices. 
• Strong engagement of regional and local authorities and demonstration of systemic solutions that can be scaled and replicated across European regions. 
• Progress toward all three objectives of the Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030. 
• Enhanced cross-basin cooperation, supporting the visibility and integration of regional efforts into the broader Mission framework. 

Successful applicants will be required to: 

• Carry out demonstration activities in at least eight regions, ensuring at least 2 regions per basin across the four Mission lighthouses. These demonstrations must include the strong and meaningful involvement of relevant regional or local authorities. 
• Include at least three demonstration sites in coastal areas, from different countries, with at least one located in a climate-vulnerable area (EUCRA hotspot) such as Southern Europe, low-lying coastal zones, or an EU outermost region. 
• Engage at least three replicating authorities from three different countries to prepare for uptake of successful solutions. 
• Place special emphasis on nature-based solutions, land-sea interactions, and transboundary actions, particularly where ecosystems and governance cross regional or national borders. 
• Contribute to the resilience of coastal and riparian communities, addressing climate-related extreme events, sea-level rise, and water resilience. 
• Support the blue economy by integrating ecologically sound and economically viable methods, creating benefits for both the environment and local livelihoods. 
• Develop innovative funding approaches to support the implementation and scaling of restoration solutions across different regional and institutional contexts.  
• Ensure participation of local end-users, regional authorities, and knowledge partners, and connect with relevant EU and national initiatives (e.g. Horizon Europe, LIFE, Interreg, Copernicus). 
• Share knowledge and coordinate through the Mission Implementation Platform and the Lighthouse Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs). 

Strong emphasis should be placed on territorial cooperation, practical deployment, and scaling potential across regions. Involvement of the EU Outermost Regions is encouraged. 

Eligible applicants: 

Eligible applicants include legal entities established in EU Member States or in countries associated with Horizon Europe. These may include research organisations, universities, public authorities, NGOs, private companies (including SMEs), and international organisations with legal personality. Proposals must involve at least three independent legal entities from three different eligible countries. There are no sector-specific exclusions, but applicants should demonstrate strong expertise in ecosystem restoration, nature-based solutions, circular economy approaches, regional governance, climate resilience, and stakeholder engagement. Entities established in China are not eligible to participate in Innovation Actions under Horizon Europe in any capacity. 

All applicants must register their organisation and submit proposals via the Funding & Tenders Portal of the European Commission. Each participating organisation must have a valid Participant Identification Code (PIC), which requires creating an account in the EU Login system. The proposal coordinator is responsible for preparing and submitting the application electronically through the portal by the specified deadline. No paper submissions are accepted. 

Budget: 

The total indicative budget for this call is EUR 15 million. The Commission anticipates funding approximately one project under this call. 

Duration: 

The project is expected to start in early 2026, following grant agreement preparation, and should typically run for a duration of 3 to 4 years, depending on the scope of the proposed work. 

Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025 : Missions 

Funding & Tenders Portal 

To get support : 

• Online Manual for the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant. 
• Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025 for detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of the Horizon Europe 2025 Work programme. 
• Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ for answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management. 
• Research Enquiry Service for questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular. 
• National Contact Points (NCPs) for guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third countries’). 
• Enterprise Europe Network for contacting your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding. 
• IT Helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc. 
• European IP Helpdesk for intellectual property issues. 
• CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk for standardisation issues in your project proposal.   
• The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment for consulting the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers. 
• Partner Search Services for finding a partner organisation for your proposal.

See related links above on getting support.