PSF 2026 Call

The CBSS Project Support Facility (PSF), established in 2012 by the Council of the Baltic Sea States, provides co-financing to projects that foster sustainable partnerships and contribute to macro-regional cooperation within the Baltic Sea Region (BSR).

Designed to promote development in line with CBSS long-term priority areas, the PSF offers grants of up to 65,000 euros per project.

To be eligible, projects must involve partners from at least three CBSS Member States and demonstrate added value for macro-regional cooperation. Applicants can include national, regional or local public authorities, NGOs, and other organisations from the BSR.

Projects should aim to develop sustainable networks, partnerships, or processes that have long-term impact beyond the project duration.

INTRODUCTION

The 2026 Project Support Facility (PSF) call for proposals, which opens on 15 February 2026 and closes on 31 March 2026, focuses on strengthening security and resilience in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). Specifically, the PSF 2026 calls for initiatives relating to: 

• Societal security 
• The protection of critical infrastructure 
• Resilience against hybrid and other grey-zone threats 
• Fostering inclusive youth participation 
• Enhancing environmental and maritime security 
• Other topics related to strengthening security and resilience in the BSR 

Submitted project proposals should also connect with one of the CBSS’ three long-term priorities listed below. The list also includes specific thematic areas. 

Call priority areas 

1. “Safe and Secure Region”: aims to enhance the safety and security across the BSR. Key elements include strengthening societal resilience and civil protection systems within the BSR countries, emphasising cross-border cooperation. 

Thematic area: Civil Security 

This thematic area aims to strengthen security in the Baltic Sea Region against natural, technological and hybrid threats, including disinformation and cyber risks. It seeks to promote a whole-of-society approach in which authorities, civil society, businesses and citizens work together to protect vital societal functions and strengthen resilience. Initiatives should support cross-sectoral cooperation, community involvement, and improved public awareness and preparedness. The goal is to build practical skills, increase readiness, and foster a common societal security culture across the region. 

Thematic area: Anti-trafficking 

This thematic area supports focused initiatives that address Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) as a form of organised crime and as a threat to public security, economy, rule of law and stability in the Baltic Sea Region. The call encourages projects that generate insights, develop methods, or pilot approaches, recognising that human trafficking networks often operate transnationally and in conjunction with other criminal activities. Priority will be given to initiatives that strengthen the analytical and operational capacity of relevant actors to identify and explore trafficking patterns and new frontiers, contribute to disrupting criminal networks, and contribute to improving coordination among relevant authorities and institutions. Project ideas attempting to explore the nexus, and interplay between international legal frameworks and regulations related to human trafficking, such as migration, border management, smuggling, human rights, and organised crime, and their impact on human trafficking dynamics in the region, are encouraged. 

Thematic area: Inclusive and resilient child protection systems 

Under this theme, the call seeks to support seed initiatives that promote inclusive and resilient national child protection systems, with a specific focus on building trust in national child protection systems and building collaboration between different sectors and disciplines. Examples of project topics include raising awareness of the challenges posed by the risks of war for vulnerable groups of children; developing national and local solutions to support vulnerable groups of children; and enhancing child protection systems to ensure trauma-informed care. Projects should preferably involve professionals, children, and caregivers. 

2. “Regional identity”: aims to explore current and future-oriented identity building endeavours in the region, involving young people, culture and education for fostering societal resilience and transregional collaboration – particularly in border areas. Applicants are invited to explore how culture, including cultural heritage, or educational endeavours at various levels, like summer camps or summer schools, can contribute to the development of regional identity narratives providing common ground for a safe, secure, and sustainable Baltic Sea Region. Project proposals should clearly demonstrate what actions and deliberation mechanisms on the future of the BSR are planned, including how young people are incorporated in this dialogue and empowered for action as prospective region builders. 

3. “Sustainable and Prosperous Region”: aims to support sustainable and resilient societies and foster inclusive economic and social development within the limits of healthy ecosystems. While climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges, it has very local effects. The call encourages project proposals that support local coastal communities in developing sustainable actions, including awareness raising, preparedness, and capacity building on the most urgent climate change challenges facing the region. Proposals that advance climate change mitigation and adaptation, including transformational collaboration on energy transitions and in the maritime sector, while safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem values, are also welcome.  

 Scope of the activities   

• Developing and extending cooperation between national, regional, and local governments, civil society organisations, volunteer organisations, researchers, practitioners and policy makers from different sectors and levels for managing increasing risks stemming from natural and/or man-made disasters. 
• Enabling the exchange of good (implementation) practices, as well as building regionwide awareness of common challenges. 
• Providing training and capacity building for national and local actors to identify, assess and manage adverse impacts of crises to societies, including children, elderly, people with disabilities, migrants and other groups. 
• Developing new integrated and innovative approaches to promoting the objectives of this call, particularly involving young people as future region builders. 
• The CBSS encourages projects that involve Ukraine through the exchange of experiences and mutually beneficial cooperation. 

Strategic background / reference documents

2025 Vihula Declaration, CBSS Vilnius II Declaration, CBSS Action plan, a Joint Position on Enhancing Cooperation in Civil Protection Area, Children at Risk Regional Strategy 2025-2030, Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings Strategic Plan 2025-2030, Political Declaration of the 2024 Europe & Central Asia Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, UN Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UNFCC Paris Agreement and also “Realizing the Vision: The Baltic 2030 Action Plan”. 

For more details on the Project Support Facility (PSF), including call requirements and application criteria, please refer to the PSF main page and the PSF Manual.