DANUBELifeLines call for associated regions
The DANUBELifeLines Call for Associated Regions is open and ongoing until December 31st 2025. Supported by the Horizon Europe Programme, this call will enable 5 regions to implement restoration actions in freshwater ecosystems and benefit from tailored technical assistance.
The DANUBELifeLines project fosters an integrated approach — bridging science, policy, economy, and local action — to reverse the decline of migratory fish species and contribute to healthy, resilient freshwater ecosystems in the Danube River Basin and across Europe. Beyond the Danube River Basin, it is the Associated Regions who will upscale the solutions and tools developed within the project, such as the DLL Action Plan (referred to as the ‘Blueprint for Migratory Fish Recovery‘), which integrates ecological, socio-economic an policy dimensions into an evidence-base restoration strategy.
The selected local and/or regional authorities will receive funding up to €100,000 to restore their rivers and migratory fish habitats.
Eligibility
The call is open to local and/or regional authorities (municipalities, conservation agencies, regional governments) from EU Member States (except Austria, The Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Serbia, United Kingdom, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Bulgaria or countries under EU restrictive measures), from EEA countries and from Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
Funding
Each selected Associated Region can receive up to €100.000 in funding. Only actual costs incurred during the implementation of supported activities can be reimbursed.
Supported activities include:
• Restoration measures for habitats of migratory fish
• Monitoring habitat assessment of migratory fish
• Planning of restoration measures for migratory fish
• Feasibility studies for restoration measures (incl. dam removal) for migratory fish
• River connectivity, river-sea reconnection
• River dynamics improvement
• Dam removal
• Business plan implementation
• Stakeholder involvement
How to Apply
- Download the Application Form from DANUBELifeLines website and General Information for Applicants.
- Submit the completed Application Form (Annex I, to be submitted in English) by uploading it on this online portal : Application Form upload
Deadline for submission: 31st December 2025
Please refer to this https://danubelifelines.eu/associated-regions webpage on the for more details on the call, including FAQs and a timeline.
We strongly encourage you to carefully review the General Information for Applicants and to reach out to [email protected] for inquiries on the call.
Migratory fish are at the core of DANUBELifeLines activities, but benefits reach far beyond underwater life. Restoring freshwater ecosystems is not only an urgent necessity, but also a wonderful opportunity to bring life back in our river basins, sustaining leisure and economic activities, enhancing water resilience, simultaneously healing these fragile ecosystems, the species they inhabit, and the precious yet endangered relationship our communities hold with them.
Join us to let fish, rivers and hope for a better future flow freely !
Download the General Information for Applicants and Application Form below:
[note to comms team: both files are stored here:
- Docx is the Application Form,
- PDF is the General Information for Applicants]