What is STEP, and what are the main areas in which it operates?
The Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) is an European Union initiative aimed at supporting the development and manufacturing of certain technologies considered strategic within the Union. The idea behind STEP is to redirect resources already included in the EU budget to fund projects oriented toward the development or manufacturing of key technologies in the context of the Union's strategic autonomy. This also includes support for developing the human capital skills necessary to progress in these sectors.
STEP coordinates resources from 11 European budget programs, across direct, shared, and indirect management, channeling them toward three main sectors to maximize impact for key frontier technologies:
digital technologies, such as advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, robotics, and autonomous systems;
clean and resource-efficient technologies, such as solar and wind energy, batteries, carbon capture and storage systems, hydrogen electrolyzers, and nuclear technologies;
biotechnologies, such as genomics and pharmacogenomics, sequencing technologies, DNA and RNA synthesis and amplification, and protein and peptide synthesis.
To clarify STEP's operational sectors, the European Commission published a Communication last May. It is essential to specify that STEP focuses on the development and manufacturing of such innovative technologies. It does not fund the purchase, installation, or distribution of existing commercial technologies, especially those procured from outside the European Union. STEP is configured as a flagship initiative in the debate on EU strategic autonomy, aimed at reducing dependence on external trading partners.
Which direct management European funding sources does STEP reference, and how can they be activated?
STEP represents a cross-cutting European Union initiative involving five direct management funding programs: Digital Europe Programme, European Defence Fund, EU4Health Programme, Horizon Europe, and the Innovation Fund. These programs were chosen to be part of STEP because they fund, among other things, technologies that fall within STEP priorities by application sector, technological readiness level (TRL), and criteria for innovation and reduction of strategic dependencies.
Digital Europe Programme: With a budget of 8.1 billion euros (2021-2027), it aims to encourage the adoption of digital technologies in the European economy and society, with a focus on technologies for supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and advanced digital skills.
European Defence Fund: Equipped with nearly 8 billion euros for the period 2021-2027, it supports cooperation between companies, including SMEs, and research actors in the EU. It promotes the development of innovative and interoperable defense technologies and equipment. In March 2023, the STEP Regulation supplemented the fund's budget with an additional 1.5 billion euros.
Horizon Europe: With an indicative budget of 93.5 billion euros (2021-2027), it is the main European program for research and innovation, addressing global challenges and improving EU competitiveness.
EU4Health: With a budget of 4.4 billion euros (2021-2027), it strengthens health systems, improves prevention and crisis response, ensures access to essential medicines, and promotes digital health. It supports initiatives such as the European Cancer Plan and the fight against antimicrobial resistance.
Innovation Fund: With an allocation of approximately 40 billion euros (2020-2030), funded by the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), it supports innovative low-carbon technologies, contributing to the transition toward a climate-neutral economy.
To compete for the assignment of the STEP Seal, it is sufficient to apply for one of the STEP funding calls of the aforementioned programs. However, not all funding calls published by these programs are classified as STEP. Since STEP came into force in March 2024, dedicated calls totaling over 6.5 billion euros have been published on the STEP Portal. In particular, more than 4.5 billion euros have been made available through calls launched under programs directly managed by the European Commission, in line with STEP objectives.
Cohesion policy also plays a key role in mobilizing resources. Eight Member States—Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Spain, the Netherlands, and Latvia—have already presented revisions to cohesion policy programs worth a total of about 6.2 billion euros.
Regarding Italy, the European Commission has approved modifications to 9 regional programs, mainly related to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The regions involved include Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, Lazio, Campania, Puglia, Calabria, Sicily, and Sardinia. Overall, these program revisions represent a mobilization of resources equal to about 3 billion euros for Italy.
At the national level, which programs can support STEP?
With the goal of creating synergies and mobilizing resources from different types of EU budget funding, STEP also integrates shared and indirect management programs into its approach, in addition to National Recovery and Resilience Plans (PNRR).
Within the framework of cohesion policy, resources from national and regional programs of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund, the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), and the Just Transition Fund (JTF) can be used to support STEP technologies. As explained above, many Regions and Member States have updated their programs to create a specific financial allocation for STEP, currently amounting to about 3 billion euros for Italy alone. In some cases, projects that have obtained the STEP Seal can benefit from simplified selection procedures to access cohesion policy funds.
Among indirect management programs, the STEP Regulation provides that the InvestEU program can benefit from a transfer of up to 6% of the PNRR resources of each Member State to support investments in STEP technologies. Furthermore, the Regulation encourages Member States to consider including national projects that have obtained the STEP Seal in updated PNRRs.
It is important to emphasize that the possibility for shared or indirect management programs to co-finance projects with the STEP Seal is subject to the specific rules of each funding program. Therefore, it is essential that beneficiaries carefully analyze programmatic documentation and collaborate with responsible authorities to ensure compliance.
Several tools have been introduced to help businesses access STEP opportunities. What are they?
To activate synergies between direct, indirect, and shared management programs, the Regulation establishing the initiative introduced a series of tools to simplify access to European funding:
the STEP Seal (Sovereignty Seal). A quality label awarded to high-quality projects participating in STEP calls. The Seal is attributed to projects evaluated positively against selection criteria, whether they receive a financial contribution or, while excellent, do not obtain funds due to budget limits. This tool aims to promote selected projects and catalyze resources from indirect or shared management programs, as well as private investors.
the STEP Portal. A single access point for information on European funding related to STEP. The portal collects calls published by direct and shared management programs and offers an overview of STEP resources managed by both the European Commission and Member States.
Network of National Contact Points (NCP). Each Member State has appointed an NCP, a public authority that facilitates the connection between STEP-relevant projects and available funding opportunities in the country.
the STEP Taskforce. Established within the Directorate-General for Budget, the Taskforce supports the Commission and national authorities in directing programs toward STEP priority sectors. It ensures that European resources are aligned with STEP objectives and promotes projects of excellence through the STEP Portal.