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Europaudvalget 2025
KOM (2025) 0421
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EUROPEAN

COMMISSION

Brussels, 16.7.2025

COM(2025) 421 final

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND

THE COUNCIL

Investing in the competitiveness and technological leadership of the EU

{SWD(2025) 194 final}

kom (2025) 0421 - Ingen titel

INTERIM EVALUATION OF THE

STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGIES FOR

EUROPE PLATFORM (STEP)

Investing in the competitiveness and

technological leadership of the EU

Report from the Commission

to the European Parliament and the Council

kom (2025) 0421 - Ingen titel

This report provides an interim evaluation of the implementation of the Strategic

Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP)

until March 2025.

Set up in March 2024 as part of the

mid-term review of the current multiannual financial framework (MFF),

STEP is a key component of

the EU’s response to the growing challenges to its technological leadership and industrial

resilience.

STEP is not a new funding programme adding to the already complex funding landscape

It is an innovative coordination platform,

steering EU investments

across 11 existing EU

funding programmes

to support critical strategic technologies in three sectors - digital and deep

technologies, clean and resource-efficient technologies, and biotechnologies - targeting also shortages

of skilled labour. The implementation of STEP relies on pooling investments under existing funds,

awarding a

STEP (Sovereignty) Seal

to high-quality projects and offering a

STEP (Sovereignty)

Portal

to facilitate access to funding for project promoters.

STEP supports a wide range of

beneficiaries, including small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), start-ups, research institutions and

industrial players, to help them develop and scale up strategic technologies with

high innovation

potential

or with the ability to

reduce the strategic dependencies of the EU.

The European Commission is adopting this interim evaluation on the implementation of STEP

as required under Article 8 of the STEP Regulation

Although published at an early stage of STEP

implementation - too early for a fully-fledged impact evaluation - this report serves to extract valuable

initial lessons. These insights are intended to inform discussions on future spending programmes under

the next MFF, as envisaged by the Regulation. In line with the requirements of the Better Regulation

framework, the interim evaluation assesses how STEP is delivering against its objectives, based on the

available evidence. It does so by considering the five evaluation criteria of effectiveness, efficiency,

relevance, coherence and European added value. The staff working document that accompanies this

report provides further evidence and background, building on a broad set of evidence sources, including

a dedicated call for evidence, targeted outreach missions to Member States, and exchanges with national

authorities, industry representatives, and research institutions.

The evaluation found that significant strides have been made in steering EU funding

resources to advance

the EU’s

strategic objectives.

Member States have taken action to integrate

STEP priorities into their cohesion policy programmes, with

approximately EUR 6.3 billion already

mobilised

for STEP objectives

. In parallel, under EU funding programmes managed by the

Commission, around

EUR 9.5 billion has been mobilised through targeted calls,

with over EUR

5.1 billion already awarded to selected projects. Furthermore,

190 STEP Seals

have been awarded to

high-quality projects of strategic value for the EU

. Although it is

too early for a full assessment

See

Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform - European Union (STEP).

The STEP Regulation does not provide for any additional financial allocation for STEP, except for a targeted reinforcement of EUR 1.5 billion

to the European Defence Fund for STEP-related actions.

The Innovation Fund, the Digital Europe Programme, the European Defence Fund, Horizon Europe (HE), EU4Health, the European Regional

Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Just Transition Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the Recovery and Resilience Facility and

InvestEU.

See

STEP (Sovereignty) Seal.

See

STEP (Sovereignty) Portal.

The STEP Regulation (Article 8) requires that an interim evaluation be concluded by December 2025.

As of 31 March 2025, the Commission had approved a total of 38 STEP-related cohesion policy programme amendments across 11 Member

States.

This includes 11 STEP Seals awarded under the European Innovation Council on 3 April 2025.

kom (2025) 0421 - Ingen titel

and some

complexities have arisen in its implementation,

early indications suggest that

STEP is

effectively steering existing EU funding resources towards critical sectors

essential for

Europe’s technological sovereignty.

This report is structured as follows.

Section 1 assesses the progress made so far in implementing

STEP, focusing on concrete results achieved on the ground. Section 2 looks at what has worked well

and what could be improved, and identifies the key lessons learned so far. Section 3 summarises and

concludes, outlining the way ahead.

1. The successful implementation of STEP is well under way

STEP has been integrated into the implementation of five EU programmes directly managed

by the Commission: Horizon Europe, the Innovation Fund

, the European Defence Fund (EDF),

the Digital Europe Programme (DEP), and EU4Health.

By March 2025, a total of 60 STEP-relevant

calls for proposals and two calls for tenders had been launched across these programmes, aligning

with STEP’s objectives –

totalling EUR 9.5 billion in funding. The calls under the Innovation Fund,

supporting clean and resource-efficient technologies, accounted for the largest share. Other notable

contributions included the European Innovation Council’s dedicated STEP “Scaleup”

call, providing

equity-only investments to successful applicants. By the end of March 2025, about EUR 5.2 billion had

already been allocated to selected projects across the three strategic sectors identified under STEP,

with the majority of resources having been mobilised towards clean technologies. Support for the

development of skills amounted to EUR 53 million, awarded under DEP to support advanced digital

skills in critical technologies.

Implementation of STEP through EU cohesion policy is progressing well at national and

regional level in the Member States.

By the end of March 2025, Member States had demonstrated

substantial interest in using cohesion policy resources to support STEP priorities. A total of 38

amendments to cohesion policy programmes had been submitted and approved by the Commission for

the reallocation of EUR 6.3 billion to STEP-dedicated priorities. These amendments concerned

programmes from 11 Member States

, in particular under the European Regional Development Fund

(ERDF), the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), and the Just Transition Fund (JTF). Investments in skills

development

–

an essential part of the STEP objectives - accounted for about 15% of the allocation

In addition, selected Member States

launched EUR 2 billion worth of calls for proposals targeting

STEP-relevant investments, with EUR 148 million already allocated to actual projects and more

allocations to take place gradually in the next months and years.

The figures reported as of end-March 2025 regarding allocations and funding awarded to STEP

investments - including resources allocated or awarded to investments in skills development

contributing to the achievement of the STEP objectives - should be understood as a snapshot in an

ongoing process. More skills-focused initiatives can be expected to follow as STEP implementation

continues. Building on these results, the identified financial resources allocated to STEP objectives are

yet to materialise into the financing of actual projects in the targeted technology sectors. Where the

The fund is financed through revenues generated by the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).

France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Italy, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and Poland.

Data point accounting only for programmes with dedicated STEP priority axes or known amounts dedicated to STEP.

Germany, Denmark, Italy, Latvia and Romania.

kom (2025) 0421 - Ingen titel

projects were already selected for funding under STEP-relevant calls for proposals, their

implementation is expected to take place over the course of the next years. This limits the

current possibility to assess STEP’s success

in supporting strategic technologies.

As of March 2025, no Member State had submitted amendments to its recovery and

resilience plans (RRP) to add specific STEP priorities,

and no Member State had opted to transfer

Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) resources to its InvestEU Member State compartment specifically

for STEP-related investments

1314.

This can be explained by

timing constraints,

with STEP introduced

more than halfway through the

RRF’s

implementation schedule.

To increase visibility and facilitate alternative and cumulative financing for projects, the

Commission has awarded 190 STEP (Sovereignty) Seals to date.

The STEP Seal is meant to

recognise projects of high quality and aligned with STEP objectives, whether they received funding or

not (often because of insufficient overall funding available). The Seal does not in itself involve any

guarantee that alternative or cumulative funding will be made available:

as of end-March 2025,

STEP Seal projects had yet to receive funding

from EU cohesion policy resources or under the RRF.

However, the first Seals were only awarded in October 2024, meaning that uptake of these could still

happen in the months to come.

The

STEP (Sovereignty) Portal,

launched in April 2024, has acted as a single online hub for

information on STEP-related funding and investment opportunities.

As of end of March 2025,

the portal listed over

70 calls for proposals,

across multiple sources of funding (cohesion policy, EU

programmes managed by the Commission etc.). The STEP Portal features a

map with an overview of

cohesion policy programme amendments adopted

and a

public database of projects awarded the STEP

Seal,

increasing transparency and providing a resource for public and private investors, including

managing authorities of EU funds in the Member States. Technical preparations are ongoing to integrate

an AI-powered simulator and a chatbot to help project promoters identify suitable EU funding

opportunities.

Facing the challenge of implementing STEP in a consistent manner across 11 different EU programmes,

a range of

coordination mechanisms have been created.

First,

a network of STEP national

contact points (NCPs) was set up, with representatives appointed by all Member States

The network met five times between 2024 and early 2025, providing a forum for exchanging

experiences, sharing good practices, and clarifying regulatory and operational aspects of STEP

implementation. Second, an

interservice Commission network

involving 14 Directorates-General

However, eight Member States (Bulgaria, Czechia, Finland, Greece, Malta, Romania, Spain and Portugal) have contributed to their InvestEU

Member State compartments, five of them using RRF resources, for non-STEP specific objectives.

Member States are allowed to allocate 6% of their RRF resources to the InvestEU Member State compartment for investments in STEP-

relevant technologies. This is in addition to the existing option of transferring up to 4% of RRF funds to InvestEU for broader purposes, enabling

a combined transfer of up to 10%. Member States are also required to consider as a priority STEP Seal-awarded projects when revising their

RRPs. Furthermore, the STEP Seal must be considered by both the Commission and Member States in consultations on investments by the

European Investment Bank (the main InvestEU partner) and during policy checks on investments by other InvestEU implementing partners.

As of 31 March 2025, only Ireland had yet to appoint an NCP.

Representatives of DG Budget; DG Climate Action; DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology; DG Competition; DG Defence

Industry and Space; DG Economic and Financial Affairs; DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion; DG Internal Market, Industry,

Entrepreneurship and SMEs; the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority; the Legal Service; DG Regional and Urban Policy; DG

Research and Innovation; DG Health and Food Safety; the Secretariat-General; and the Reform and Investment Task Force.

kom (2025) 0421 - Ingen titel

meets regularly to align on funding priorities, share operational guidance and best practices, and

oversee progress.

In addition, the Commission issued several guidance documents,

including a formal Guidance

Note on the scope of STEP

, a dedicated brochure for NCPs and managing authorities, and an updated

notice on the amendment of RRPs to incorporate STEP priorities. So far, the Commission has conducted

technical missions to nine Member States (Germany, France, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania,

Slovenia, Portugal and Greece) to further support national implementation efforts.

2. STEP is well positioned to support strategic technologies in the EU,

though implementation hurdles remain

STEP plays a tangible role in directing EU funding programmes towards strategic

technologies

–

however, systemic challenges limit the full exploitation of its potential.

STEP

has acted as a catalyst to

coordinate

existing instruments and steer them towards critical technologies

in the digital and deep, clean, and biotech spheres, reorienting substantial financial resources within a

short timeframe. Nevertheless, the multiplicity and diversity of EU funding programmes under STEP

and designed prior to the establishment of STEP

—

each with distinct eligibility criteria, application

procedures, timelines, and co-financing rates

— constrain both the speed and the quality of STEP’s

implementation, ultimately limiting its overall impact.

While the STEP Seal has improved

projects’ visibility, its impact on funding uptake is yet to

be established.

This is driven by

timing issues

and practical obstacles.

The current regional

distribution of the awarded STEP Seals across Member States shows a relative concentration in the

more developed regions of the EU. The projects awarded a STEP Seal located in

‘less

developed’ and

‘transition’

regions could, in principle, benefit from a comparatively larger share of cohesion policy

resources. It has proven difficult to combine financial resources from different EU instruments in

practice as they operate under different rules, including divergent assessment methods for eligible

costs. Moreover, the State aid treatment of STEP projects varies depending on the type of project

—

projects covered by the STEP Regulation benefit only from a limited preferential regime

—

a factor

which some national authorities have noted may limit their willingness to provide funding. Finally, the

very nature of certain STEP Seal projects, involving large transnational consortia, complicates their

potential uptake as it would require simultaneous support from multiple managing authorities.

The STEP Portal has successfully offered simplified access to information on funding

opportunities as a single-entry point.

However, its operations depend on separate application

systems. Planned improvements, such as the development of an AI-powered simulator, are expected

to further improve its effectiveness. Information on grants and procurement actions under programmes

managed directly by the Commission is available on the Funding & Tenders Portal. However, to date,

Commission Communication C/2024/3209, Guidance Note concerning certain provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/795 establishing the

Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), 2024, available at:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3209/oj.

The first STEP Seals were awarded only towards the end of the evaluation period.

In June 2024, the Commission amended the Guidelines on regional State aid to raise the maximum aid intensities in assisted areas for

projects falling within the scope of STEP

–

see

EUR-Lex - 52024XC03516 - EN - EUR-Lex.

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there is no single entry point that displays the funding opportunities financed by the EU budget and

managed by implementing partners, the Member States and regional authorities.

STEP improved EU spending on critical technologies compared to the initial MFF set-up, but

structural differences between programmes still prevent a fully integrated approach to the

benefit of project promoters.

For instance, several Member States presented examples of projects

that had been awarded the STEP Seal under the Innovation Fund but are potentially ineligible for

support from the ERDF and the JTF because of regulatory provisions

–

in the legal bases of funds

–

ruling out their use to finance installations covered by the Emissions Trading System (ETS)

. Such

discrepancies reduce the capacity of STEP to act as a seamless bridge across management modes and

underline the complexity of aligning different funding instruments post hoc.

Strategically, STEP delivers European added value by concentrating resources and policy

attention on sectors and projects of paramount importance for the

EU’s

future

competitiveness and economic security.

STEP provides an EU-wide framework to promote

investments in critical technologies, although the regional concentration of STEP Seal projects in more

developed areas reflects a potential challenge for inclusive impact.

The relevance of STEP is confirmed by the evolving political agenda.

Commission initiatives

under the Clean Industrial Deal

and the Competitiveness Compass

reflect a broad consensus on the

need to support strategic technologies through focused, coordinated investments and actions. The

proposed extension of STEP’s scope to

cover the defence sector

confirms its potential under the

current MFF.

3. STEP will continue to deliver and inform future decision-making

on EU funding

While still phasing in, STEP is on track to deliver on its objectives.

The platform has

demonstrated the benefits of increased coordination of funding programmes around a targeted set of

policy objectives. The STEP Portal is successfully positioned as a pilot initiative bringing STEP-relevant

funding and investment opportunities into a single entry point for relevant stakeholders.

Despite these achievements, the evaluation underscores that STEP operates within the limits of a

complex and rigid funding landscape, highlighting the need for continued coordination to facilitate the

increasingly necessary strategic prioritisation in the future.

Looking ahead, STEP’s implementation activities continue

to advance at full speed.

By March

2025, more cohesion policy programme amendments related to STEP had been submitted from across

Article 7 of

Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on the European Regional

Development Fund and on the Cohesion Fund

and Article 9 and Article 11(2), point (h), of

Regulation (EU) 2021/1056 of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 establishing the Just Transition Fund.

On 1 April 2025, the Commission published a legislative proposal with targeted amendments to the regulatory framework for the cohesion

policy funds, including allowing investments related to production, processing, transport, distribution, storage or combustion of fossil fuels, in

operations that received a STEP Seal under the Innovation Fund and more support from the ERDF for decarbonisation projects awarded a STEP

Seal (e.g. under the Innovation Fund)

–

available at

Inforegio - A modernised Cohesion policy: The mid-term review.

See

COM(2025) 85 final.

See

COM(2025) 30 final.

Proposal for a regulation incentivising defence-related investments in the EU budget to implement the ReArm Europe Plan, COM(2025) 188

final.

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the EU. Their adoption and implementation will be a key focus in this new phase. Member States and

the Commission will continue to launch calls for proposals and award funding to STEP-relevant projects.

The increasing number of STEP Seals awarded by the Commission, combined with increased financial

resources earmarked for STEP purposes at national level, provide a pipeline of high-quality projects for

investors. Achieving STEP’s ambitions by the end of the current MFF in 2027 will require

sustained

efforts and continuous commitment from both Member States and the Commission.

To this

end, the Commission will continue exploring ways to assist Member States in implementing STEP and

to enhance complementarities among EU funding instruments.

In this second phase of implementation, STEP could benefit from a larger scope and

increased incentives.

In April 2025, the Commission proposed to introduce a fourth sector under

STEP - defence - and to expand the financial incentives available under STEP for cohesion policy. These

novelties were introduced in the proposal for a regulation incentivising defence-related investments in

the EU budget

and in the proposal for a regulation in the context of cohesion mid-term review

. The

texts are now currently being negotiated between EU institutions.

At this stage, further

amendments to the functioning of STEP are not envisaged

–

also

considering the implementation time that would be needed to see possible benefits under a temporary

instrument expiring at the end of the current MFF (end-2027).

Still, many of the lessons learned

from STEP and its limitations in addressing existing challenges may inform the design of

the future MFF, as was envisaged in the STEP Regulation, in particular regarding the design

of the future EU funding for competitiveness and economic convergence.

Some of the key

objectives of STEP - such as strengthened coordination and integration across EU funding instruments

and simplified access to funding for beneficiaries with simpler rules and a single entry point - could

inspire the design of the next MFF instruments.

See

EUR-Lex - 52025PC0188 - EN - EUR-Lex.

See

Inforegio - A modernised Cohesion policy: The mid-term review.