[European Union, July, 2026]: As Europe intensifies efforts to safeguard its critical freshwater infrastructure, the EU-funded SUNDANSE project has officially launched its second Open Call. This funding mechanism delivers a total of €200,000 to help forward-thinking communities transition from planning to real on-the-ground action.

The core objective of the call is to address the hidden environmental threats resting beneath the surface of European waterways: sediment dynamics and water flow management. Sub-surface imbalances, pollution accumulation, and altered flow regimes directly threaten water security, biodiversity, and regional climate resilience. This funding call offers a direct route for local public authorities to implement advanced, practical solutions to reverse these trends.

The call will select two Associated Regions from 31 eligible European and Associated countries, providing each successful applicant with a direct grant of up to €100,000 alongside technical and scientific support from the SUNDANSE consortium.

Eligible local and regional authorities established in participating nations - Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom - are encouraged to leverage this opportunity to deploy water flow monitoring tools, undertake sediment quantity tracking and quality assessments to mitigate pollution, and launch localised public awareness campaigns for freshwater basin care.

"With the official launch of this second funding round, we are putting practical tools directly into the hands of regional managers," said Professor Lucian Georgescu, Coordinator of the SUNDANSE project. "By focusing on sediment management and water flow tracking, this programme empowers local authorities to make a tangible, lasting impact on the health of their freshwater ecosystems."

The application window is open until Wednesday, 30 September 2026 (5 PM CET). To support applicants, the consortium will host two informative webinars on 29 July 2026 and 16 September 2026. To read the guidelines, register for the support webinars, and apply, visit: sundanseproject.eu/sundanse-open-call-2/.

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