sesar
JOINT UNDERTAKING
Ref. Area(2025)11220420 · 16/12/2025

Second Call for Expression of Interests for Associated Members

Ref. S3JU/020-CEI

Edition date: 15/12/2025
Edition: 01.00
Status: Approved

Abstract

The SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking ("SESAR 3 JU") is launching an open call for expression of interest with a view to selecting associated members with the potential to contribute to the achievement of its objectives¹.

Applications shall be addressed to the functional email box legaloffice@sesarju.eu by 31/01/2026.

Any public or private entity or body including those from third countries that are associated to the Horizon Europe programme and have concluded at least one agreement with the European Union in the field of air transport may be selected as SESAR 3 JU associated members.

Admissibility, eligibility and selection criteria are set in section 6 of this call for expression of interest.

Upon assessment of the received applications by SESAR 3 JU with the assistance by independent experts, the SESAR 3 JU Executive Director will submit a list of proposed associated members to the Governing Board.

On this basis, the Governing Board may select Associated Members by the end of the second quarter of 2026. The adhesion of the selected Associated Members will be formalised by the signature of an Adhesion Form to the Membership Agreement² by each Associated Member.

EUROPEAN PARTNERSHIP

Co-funded by the European Union

¹ Based on articles 6, 7 and 144 of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) 557/2014, (EU) 558/2014, (EU) 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014, as last amended by Council Regulation (EU) 2023/1782 of 25 July 2023 ("the Single Basic Act" or "SBA")

² In accordance with Article 28(2) of the SBA the members other than the Union shall agree on how to share their collective contribution among them in accordance with the applicable financial rules

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Table of Contents

1 The SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking ... 3
1.1 A public-private partnership ... 3
1.2 Objectives of the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking ... 4
1.3 Current SESAR 3 JU membership ... 5
1.4 SESAR 3 JU strategic documents ... 6
1.5 SESAR 3 JU Members contributions ... 7

2 Open Call for Expression of Interest to become an associated member : Legal basis and main objectives ... 8
3 Background technical documents ... 9
4 SESAR 3 JU Membership: Members' rights and obligations ... 10
5 How to apply? ... 11
6 Assessment process ... 12
6.1 Admissibility condition ... 12
6.2 Eligibility conditions ... 12
6.3 Selection process ... 12
6.3.1 Technical assessment ... 12
6.3.2 Executive Director assessment ... 14
6.3.3 Governing Board final assessment and selection ... 14

7 Notification of the outcome of this procedure - Accession to the SESAR 3 JU Membership ... 15
8 Information on the means of complaint ... 16
9 Submission of the expressions of interest and deadline ... 17

1 The SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking

1.1 A public-private partnership

The SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking (SESAR 3 JU) is established under Council Regulation (EU) No 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021, as last amended by Council Regulation (EU) 2023/1782 of 25 July 2023, the so-called "Single Basic Act" or "SBA".

The establishment of a joint undertaking ensures a mutually beneficial public-private partnership for the members involved, including by providing certainty on major budget allocations for the relevant industries over a period of seven years. Becoming an associated member to SESAR 3 JU allows the selected entity to contribute directly to the SESAR programme, in particular at the SESAR 3 JU Governing Board and the Programme Committee.

The SESAR 3 JU Governing Board is the strategic decision-making body of the SESAR 3 JU. It decides on the long-term strategic orientation of the partnership, as well as its annual priorities, plan and budget. In addition, it adopts the European ATM Master Plan³ and supervises the delivery of the research and development components identified within it⁴.

The SESAR 3 JU Programme Committee supports the Executive Director in the execution of his/her responsibilities⁵, in particular by:

• monitoring both operational and financial progress, as well as issues and risks, at programme level;
• identifying the impact and proposing means of mitigation for risks and issues whether programmatic, resource related, technical or operational, at programme level;
• providing strategic guidance and making recommendations with regard to the management of the programme to secure progressive delivery through releases and ensure alignment with the European ATM Master Plan;
• establishing and pre-assessing the proposal from the SESAR 3 JU Members for the annual additional activities plan before submission thereof to the Governing Board; and monitoring its implementation after approval by the Governing Board;
• providing resource commitment and strategic programme advice in relation to operational, financial and contractual analysis for monitoring, investigation and possible changes to projects;
• making recommendations and/or suggestions focusing at the following tasks:
• perform strategic planning and monitoring of the ATM modernisation efforts in Europe (ATM Master Plan),
• implement the research and development aspects of the European ATM Master Plan (deliver SESAR solutions).
• facilitate an accelerated market uptake of SESAR Solutions (demonstrators with early movers, coordination with EASA to help evolve regulatory measures, support standardisation activities)

The European Union, EUROCONTROL, the founding members and associated members therefore contribute to the joint undertaking's agenda and priority-setting through:

• the adoption and possible amendment of the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda,
• the multi-annual work programme as well as
• the respective bi-annual work programmes, which define the content of the calls for proposals, the applicable funding rate, and the related SESAR 3 JU specific rules for submission, evaluation, selection, award and review procedures within the general framework of Horizon Europe.

³ As per article 150 of the Single Basic Act
⁴ As per article 151 of the Single Basic Act
⁵ As per decision of the SESAR 3 JU’s Executive Director ref. 53JU/ED/015 on the Establishment of a Programme Committee as Advisory Body to the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking Executive Director adopted on 25/04/2022

1.2 Objectives of the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking

The SESAR 3 JU has the following objectives, which are set in the Single Basic Act⁶:

1. Through the involvement and commitment of partners in designing and implementing a programme of research and innovation activities with European added value, the joint undertakings shall deliver collectively on the following general objectives⁷:

(a) strengthening and integrating the scientific, innovation and technological capacities and facilitating collaborative links across the Union to support the creation and diffusion of high-quality new knowledge and skills, in particular with a view to delivering on global challenges, securing and enhancing Union competitiveness, European added value, resilience and sustainability and contributing to a reinforced European Research Area (ERA);

(b) securing sustainability-driven global leadership and resilience of Union value chains in key technologies and industries in line with the industrial and SMEs strategies for Europe, the European Green Deal, the European Recovery Plan and other relevant Union policies;

(c) developing and accelerating the uptake of innovative solutions throughout the Union addressing climate, environmental, health, digital and other global challenges contributing to Union strategic priorities, accelerating the economic growth of the Union and fostering the innovation ecosystem, while reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and achieving climate neutrality in the Union at the latest by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement, thereby improving the quality of life of European citizens.

1. The joint undertakings shall also deliver on the following specific objectives⁸:

(a) enhance the critical mass and scientific and technological capabilities and competences in collaborative, cross-sectoral, cross policy, cross-border and interdisciplinary research and innovation across the Union as well as facilitate their integration into European ecosystems;

(b) accelerate the green and digital transitions as well as economic, social and societal transformations in areas and sectors of strategic importance for Union priorities, in particular to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 in accordance with the climate and energy targets set in line with the European Green Deal and the European Climate Law;

(c) enhance the research and innovation capabilities and performance of existing and new European innovation ecosystem and economic value chains, including in start-ups and SMEs;

(d) accelerate the deployment, uptake and diffusion of innovative solutions, technologies, services and skills in reinforced European research and innovation ecosystems and industrial ecosystems, including through wide and early engagement and co-creation with end-users, including SMEs and start-ups, citizens and regulatory and standardisation bodies;

(e) deliver environmental, energy, resource-saving, societal, circularity and productivity improvements in new products, technologies, applications and services by exploiting Union capabilities and resources.

1. In this context, SESAR 3 JU shall in particular⁹:

(a) strengthen and integrate the Union’s research and innovation capacity in the ATM sector, making it more resilient and scalable to fluctuations in traffic while enabling the seamless operation of all aircraft;

⁶ As per articles 4, 5, 142 (1) and (2) of the Single Basic Act
⁷ Article 4(2) of the Single Basic Act
⁸ Article 4(3) of the Single Basic Act
⁹ Article 142 of the Single Basic Act

(b) strengthen, through innovation, the competitiveness of manned and unmanned air transport in the Union, and ATM services' markets to support economic growth in the Union;
(c) develop and accelerate the market uptake of innovative solutions to establish the Single European Sky airspace as the most efficient and environmentally friendly sky to fly in the world.
(d) develop a research and innovation ecosystem covering the entire ATM and U-space airspace value chains allowing to build the Digital European Sky defined in the European ATM Master plan, enabling the collaboration and coordination needed between air navigation services providers and airspace users to ensure a single harmonised Union ATM system for both manned and unmanned operations;
(e) develop and validate ATM solutions supporting high levels of automation;
(f) develop and validate the technical architecture of the Digital European Sky;
(g) support an accelerated market deployment of innovative solutions through demonstrators;
(h) coordinate the prioritisation and planning for the Union's ATM modernisation efforts, based on a consensus-led process among the ATM stakeholders;
(i) facilitate the development of standards for the industrialisation of SESAR solutions.

1.3 Current SESAR 3 JU membership

The SESAR 3 JU builds upon an established long-term partnership involving the European Union (represented by the European Commission) and a large stakeholder base of "Members other than the Union", including EUROCONTROL, known as 'Founding Members'.

The list of the existing Founding Members including the European Union and EUROCONTROL are:

tbl-0.md

tbl-1.md

As a result of the selection of associated members following the call for expression of interest for the Selection of Associated Members of the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking (ref. S3JU/018-CEI), the list of the existing Associated members is the following:

'NATS (EN ROUTE) PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY'

Table 2: SESAR 3 JU Associated Members

Table 3: SESAR 3 JU observers at the Governing Board

tbl-2.md

Table 3: SESAR 3 JU observers at the Governing Board

1.4 SESAR 3 JU strategic documents

The Governing Board has already adopted two key strategic documents.

a) The European ATM Master Plan 2025 adopted by the SESAR 3 JU's Governing Board with decision ref. GB(D)10-2024;

b) A Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (“SRIA”¹⁰) that describes the research required to realise the European ATM Master Plan in the period to 2030;

c) A Multi-Annual Work Programme (“MAWP”¹¹) that describes, at a high level, the work needed to be performed by the SESAR 3 JU, taking account of the expected funding, the research prioritisation and an appropriate planning structure required to maximise the impact towards SESAR Solutions and market uptake that achieve ambitions set in the ATM Master Plan.

The work programme of the SESAR 3 JU is detailed on a bi-annual basis in the so-called “Bi-Annual Work Programme” or “BAWP”¹². In December 2025, the Governing Board will adopt the next version of this document covering years 2026 and 2027, which will also be published on the SESAR 3 JU website.

1.5 SESAR 3 JU Members contributions

In accordance with Articles 11, 28 and 146(1) of the Single Basic Act and detailed in the SESAR 3 JU Membership Agreement¹³, the contributions of the Members shall consist of:

1) in-kind contributions to operational activities (or “IKOP”);
2) in-kind contributions to additional activities (or “IKAA”);
3) financial contributions to the administrative costs.

The Members agreed on how to share their collective contribution in accordance with the applicable SESAR 3 JU financial rules¹⁴ in the SESAR 3 JU Membership Agreement¹⁵.

The Parties shall make available contributions in accordance with SBA provisions and Article 8 of the Membership Agreement (as detailed in Section 4 below).

The Parties commit to make these contributions available as long as they remain Members of SESAR 3 JU.

SESAR 3 JU and its members work and cooperate to the best of their abilities with a view of:

• implementing the Digital European Sky Programme in an efficient, open and timely manner and
• attaining the objectives, planning and ambition set by the European ATM Master Plan.

For this purpose, SESAR 3 JU and its members act in good faith, in accordance with Good Industry Practice, the rules of the EU (Horizon Europe), SESAR 3 JU financial rules, the rules on managing any conflict of interest and working in the best, overall interest of the European Union and of the Digital European Sky Programme.

¹⁰ SESAR 3 JU - SRIA (Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda)
¹¹ SESAR 3 JU - MAWP (Multi-Annual Work Programme)
¹² https://www.sesarju.eu/node/4606
¹³ Adopted under Governing Board decision ref. GB(D)10-2022 dated 27/06/2022
¹⁴ Adopted under Governing Board decision ref. GB(D)01-2021 dated 14/12/2021 as amended by Governing Board decision ref. GB(D)05-2025 of 23 June 2025.
¹⁵ SESAR 3 JU Membership Agreement (as amended)

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2 Open Call for Expression of Interest to become an associated member : Legal basis and main objectives

The Call for Expressions of Interest ("CEI") is based on Article 7 of the SBA "Selection of Associated Members", which sets out the main principles and rules governing the selection process.

Based on the existing SESAR 3 JU governance framework, the SESAR 3 JU is now seeking for a limited number of "Associated Members" to complement the membership base with additional key capabilities/capacities and competences needed to meet the SESAR 3 JU objectives. Associated Members will join efforts with the current 55 Members of the SESAR 3 JU to contribute to the achievement of its objectives.

In particular, the SESAR 3 JU is looking for stakeholders established in third countries associated to Horizon Europe and essential to the effective functioning of European air traffic management network (EATMN) as defined in Regulation (EU) 2019/123.

The CEI is open to legal entities meeting the eligibility conditions as set below under Section 6.

Associated Members shall have the necessary operational and financial capacity and be able to engage on a long-term commitment to SESAR 3 JU.

This "CEI" is NOT a call for proposals in the meaning of Horizon Europe Regulation and will not lead to any pre-selection nor pre-allocation of Union funding to the organisations that will be selected as Associated Members.

In addition, it must be noted that applying to the CEI and becoming a SESAR 3 JU Member is not a condition to apply to the SESAR 3 JU calls for proposals and participate to the SESAR 3 JU R&I projects.

In accordance with Article 5(2) of the SBA, the SESAR 3 JU will provide financial support mainly in the form of grants to projects, which are selected following open, transparent and competitive calls for proposals, except for duly justified deviations set in the Work Programme.

The main objectives of this CEI are to provide the SESAR 3 JU Governing Board with a list of candidate Associated Members that have the potential to:

1. expand the membership base, taking into account in particular the association of additional countries to Horizon Europe$^{16}$;
2. reflect in the membership stakeholders already actively participating to SESAR JU project.

$^{16}$ The list of Participating Countries in Horizon Europe is available here. This list should be complemented by the recent signature of the agreement on Switzerland's participation in Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, and the Euratom Research & Training (R&T) programme by the European Union and Switzerland on 10 November 2025.

3 Background technical documents

In order to elaborate the application, it is recommended that applicants consult the European ATM Master Plan¹⁷, the SESAR 3 JU “Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda” (SRIA)¹⁸, the SESAR 3 JU MAWP¹⁹ and BAWP²⁰.

¹⁷ https://www.sesarju.eu/MasterPlan2025
¹⁸ https://www.sesarju.eu/sites/default/files/documents/reports/SRIA%20Final.pdf
¹⁹ www.sesarju.eu/sites/default/files/documents/reports/SESAR%203%20Multiannual%20Workprogramme%202022-2031.pdf
²⁰ https://sesarju.eu/node/4606

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4 SESAR 3 JU Membership: Members' rights and obligations

When selected, Associated Members shall comply with the obligations laid down by the Single Basic Act²¹ and the entire applicable legal framework.

The Associated members will be requested to sign an adhesion form to the Membership Agreement, in order to ensure the functioning of the SESAR 3 JU; in particular that the (founding and associated) Members:

• work and collaborate together in good faith with a view of implementing the Digital European Sky Programme;
• contribute to the SESAR 3 JU’s agenda and priority setting through the adoption and possible amendment of the SRIA and BAWP;
• make available contributions in accordance with the SBA provisions and the repartition criteria of the Membership Agreement;
• refrain from any activity that could undermine or could be detrimental to the Digital European Sky Programme.

²¹ In particular articles 11, 28 and 146 of the Single Basic Act

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5 How to apply?

Applications must be submitted within the deadline of 31/01/2026 to the following mailbox: legaloffice@sesarju.eu

The applicants shall submit:

• The application form in response to this CEI duly filled in and signed (to be downloaded from the CEI page on the SESAR 3 JU website), and
• The Letter of Commitment ("LoC") duly filled in and signed by a legal authorized representative of the applicant (template to be downloaded from the CEI page on the SESAR 3 JU website).

The applicant shall detail in both documents its intention to become an Associated Member of the SESAR 3 JU as defined in the SBA and provide a preliminary estimation of the level of "in-kind contributions" that may be committed to the SESAR 3 JU. The estimate shall be global plus an estimated breakdown of the in-kind contributions to operational activities (IKOP) and in-kind contributions to additional activities (IKAA).

Other relevant reference documents for this CEI will be available to the applicants on the SESAR 3 JU website.

6 Assessment process

6.1 Admissibility condition

To be considered admissible, an expression of interest must be:

1. submitted via email to the following mailbox: legaloffice@sesarju.eu before the deadline indicated in Section 8 below; and
2. complete, readable, accessible and printable.

6.2 Eligibility conditions

1. In accordance with Article 2(3) of the SBA²², to be eligible under the CEI, applicants to this CEI must be either:

(1) legal entities established in an EU Member State,
(2) an international organisation or
(3) legal entities established in a country associated to the Horizon Europe Programme²³, when that country has concluded at least one agreement with the Union in the field of air transport²⁴.

The eligibility of entities established in Countries who are in the process of associating to the Horizon Europe Programme are covered, mutatis mutandis, under the transitional arrangements set out in the General Annexes to the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025²⁵. Applicants from Countries who are in the process of associating to Horizon Europe will be treated by the SESAR 3 JU as eligible to apply to this CEI and considered admissible to the technical assessment process²⁶.

The selection of the Associated Members and the acceptance of such legal entities by the Governing Board, as required under Articles 7(3) and 144(3) of the SBA, will be subject to the applicability by then of the Horizon Europe Association Agreement.

1. Applications shall be submitted and signed by the legal representatives of the individual legal entity applying for SESAR 3 JU Associated Membership²⁷. Applications in the form of consortia will be considered as non-eligible.

6.3 Selection process

The applications that will pass the admissibility and eligibility steps, will undergo the following technical assessment process:

²² Pursuant to the terms set in the SBA, an “Associated Member” means “any legal entity established in a Member State of the EU, in a country associated to the Horizon Europe Programme or an international organisation that accedes to the SESAR 3 JU by signing a Letter of Commitment in accordance with articles 6(3) and 7 of the SBA and subject to approval by the Governing Board”. Applicants shall have legal personality. Non-registered Associations are not eligible.

²³ https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/guidance/list-3rd-country-participation_horizon-euratom_en.pdf

²⁴ As per Art. 144(3) of amended Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014

²⁵ https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2025/wp-14-general-annexes_horizon-2025_en.pdf

²⁶ The list of Participating Countries in Horizon Europe is available here. This list should be complemented by the recent signature of the agreement on Switzerland’s participation in Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, and the Euratom Research & Training (R&T) programme by the European Union and Switzerland on 10 November 2025.

²⁷ These representatives shall be able to take up legal and financial commitments on behalf of their legal entity/organisation

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6.3.1 Technical assessment

The following steps describe the sequencing of the assessment and selection process:

• STEP 1 – INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT: assessment conducted by independent external and SESAR 3 JU experts (i.e. experts’ individual assessment) whereby experts will prepare an individual assessment report for each application;
• STEP 2 – PANEL REVIEW: assessment at panel level composed of a minimum of 3 independent experts in consensus meetings to allow a comprehensive analysis of the applications and related applicant’s capabilities/competences and their complementarities within the programme membership including an appropriate coverage and representation of the ATM stakeholders that may be brought to the SESAR 3 JU Membership; for each application the panel will prepare an assessment consensus report;

The applications will be assessed individually based on the following criteria:

tbl-3.md

To be pre-selected, the applications should be qualified as “satisfactory”. In order to be qualified as “satisfactory”, the application scores shall be equal to (or higher than) the individual minimum thresholds AND the overall minimum threshold:

• minimum threshold applicable to both individual selection criteria is set at 40 (mentioned in the table above)
• the minimum overall threshold is set at 80 (sum of the scores allocated in each individual criterion)

28 For criteria C1-3, C1-4 and C1-5, prior involvement in SESAR activities as Beneficiary of or Applicant to calls for proposals shall be considered as advantageous.
29 The types of in-kind contributions (IKC, IKOP and IKAA), are laid down by Articles 2 (Definitions), 11 (Contributions from members other than the Union and contributing partners) and 147 (Scope of additional activities) of the SBA Regulation.
30 Leverage ratio = (estimated private investments) / (targeted EU funding)
31 As per Art. 8 of the MA and GB(D)08-2023 on the Approval of Planning, Reporting and Monitoring procedure of In-Kind contributions to SESAR 3 JU

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The result of this assessment will be a pre-selection (shortlist) of applications whose score for all the assessment criteria shall be equal to 40 or higher and whose total score (i.e. sum of the scores obtain in the criteria) is equal to 80 or higher. The assessed applications not meeting these scoring will not be retained for pre-selection.

The pre-selected and non-selected applicants will be duly informed via registered email and will receive their individual “Assessment Summary Report” as drawn up by the assessment panel.

6.3.2 Executive Director assessment

In accordance with Art. 7(2) and 19(4)(k) of the SBA, the Executive Director shall assess the applications for associated members and present a list of short-listed associated members applications to the Governing Board for its approval.

6.3.3 Governing Board final assessment and selection

The SESAR 3 JU Governing Board will assess, accept or reject the applications as Associated Members based on the list proposed by the Executive Director.

In accordance with SBA Article 21(7)(d), the Governing Board may request the Scientific Committee to provide independent advice and scientific analysis to support any assessment of applications of potential associated members by the Governing Board.

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7 Notification of the outcome of this procedure - Accession to the SESAR 3 JU Membership

Upon final decision of the SESAR 3 JU Governing Board regarding the selection of Associated Members, all the applicants will be informed simultaneously and individually by electronic means of the decision reached and the reasons motivating the outcome of this procedure.

The selected Associated Members will be requested to formally accede to Membership via the signature of the adhesion form to the SESAR 3 JU Membership Agreement³².

³² Amended SESAR 3 JU Membership Agreement

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8 Information on the means of complaint

The present CEI is not a call for proposals for the selection of projects to be co-funded; therefore the redress rules of the Horizon Europe Regulation are not applicable.

However, if an applicant believes that the rejection of the application was based on a material or procedural error in the technical assessment and/or in the selection procedure, applicants may exercise the rights of complaint in the following forms:

• Request for an administrative review of the application to legaloffice@sesarju.eu within 30 days of receiving the assessment result letter.
• Launch an action for annulment under Article 263 TFEU — within 2 months of receiving the letter (by application to the EU General Court).
• Submit a complaint to the Ombudsman in accordance with Article 44 of the SBA and Article 228 of the TFEU.

9 Submission of the expressions of interest and deadline

1. The expressions of interest must be sent to: legaloffice@sesarju.eu
2. The expression of interests shall be completed in English using the template provided on the SESAR 3 JU website.
3. The deadline for submitting expressions of interest is 31 January 2026, 12:00, Brussels time. Expressions of interest submitted after the date indicated above will not be taken into consideration.
4. Any questions should be sent to: legaloffice@sesarju.eu
5. Questions received between the date of publication and 5 January 2026, will be answered after analysis and published on this webpage for the benefit of all potential applicants by 12 January 2026. The last release of questions and answers is foreseen on 24 January 2026 (indicative date).
6. The assessment of the applications will start by end of March 2026. It is planned to inform all applicants about the outcome of this assessment by mid-July 2026.

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