Questions and Answers

STEP has two main objectives:

1. supporting the development or manufacturing of critical technologies throughout the Union or safeguarding and strengthening their respective value chains; and
2. addressing shortages of labour and skills critical to all kinds of quality jobs in support of the first objective.

• Digital technologies – including those in the Digital Decade programme, multi-country projects (Article 2(2) of Decision 2022/2481) and deep tech
• Clean technologies – including those defined in the Net-Zero Industry Act   
• Biotechnologies –including critical medicines and their components.
• Defence technologies – including those in Directive 2009/43, the EU Common Military List and other priority areas identified on 6 March 2025.

A broad range of companies, from startups all the way up to large corporations – as well as other research and academic bodies active in critical technology R&D. 

STEP does not create new eligibility rules. Eligibility conditions for each project will be determined by the specific rules of each funding programme (i.e. in the work programmes and calls for proposals’ eligibility, selection, and award criteria). There are no extra eligibility requirements due to STEP. 

All the eligibility criteria are defined in the calls  that can be found on the Get Funding Dashboard.  

EC-STEP-INFOec [dot] europa [dot] eu (Still have a question?) 

To apply for an open STEP call, please adhere to the instructions provided in the call documents and on the relevant EU or national website. Project proposals submitted in response to available funding opportunities are evaluated according to the rules of each individual funding programme as well as the conditions outlined in the relevant calls. STEP does not establish new eligibility criteria. The award criteria ensure that all project proposals evaluated above the threshold and considered for funding and STEP Seal award meet at least one of the STEP conditions.

Note that your project will compete for funding with those submitted by other applicants for that call.

Key steps to get started

• Identify the call for proposal that best matches your project scope/outline
• Check the call type: EU-wide or specific to a Member State/Region
• Carefully review the call documents to understand its scope, the eligibility, selection, and award criteria and any specific requirement that may apply.
• Follow application instructions:
  • For EU-wide calls: Click the green ‘Apply’ button and follow the Funding & Tenders Portal guidelines. Use your EU Login to access the submission system (register if needed). For more guidance, consult the online manual on the Funding & Tenders portal.
  • For national/regional calls: follow the instructions on the relevant national/regional website or click on the link for the call for proposals or the call for tenders.

Other forms of support 

These repayable instruments include equity, debt, guarantees, etc. 

For details, consult your local InvestEU implementing partner 

STEP supports the development of technologies from the moment their feasibility has been demonstrated, all the way through to commercial production. 

Applied research or the mere deployment of existing technologies are not eligible.

Based on the Guidelines on Regional State Aid, Member States can grant higher amounts of regional aid for investment projects under the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), aiming to boost critical technologies and economic resilience across Europe, with:

• increased aid by up to 10 percentage points for 'a' areas and
• 5 percentage points for 'c' areas. 

For more information:

• Regional State aid guidelines
• Regional aid maps 2022-2027 – to help you assess the compatibility of regional aid awarded in your country.
• Guidance for managing authorities

Pursuant to Article 2(4) and (5) of the STEP Regulation, projects recognised as strategic under the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) or the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) are automatically deemed to contribute to STEP objectives. This automatic recognition does not guarantee access to EU funding nor the award of a STEP Seal.

Recital 6 of the STEP Regulation indicates that technologies that fall within the 4 STEP sectors, which are the subject of an important project of common European interest (IPCEI)36 approved by the Commission pursuant to Article 107(3), point (b), of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), should be deemed critical, and individual projects within the scope of such an IPCEI should be eligible for funding, in accordance with the rules of the relevant programmes, to the extent that the identified funding gap or, where relevant, the eligible costs have not yet been completely covered.

STEP projects need to fulfil at least one of 2 conditions for considering a technology as critical: 

• be innovative
• help reduce/prevent strategic dependencies.

For more details on the scope of STEP-supported technologies, you can download the updated STEP Guidance (December 2025) that complements the first STEP Guidance Note (May 2024). This second guidance clarifies the scope of STEP following its extension to defence technologies as well as other elements relevant to STEP implementation.   

Article 2(2) of the STEP Regulation specifies that the technologies referred to in section 2 of the STEP guidance note are to be deemed critical if they meet one of these 2 conditions: 

1. contain an innovative, emerging, and cutting-edge element that has significant economic potential;
2. can help reduce or prevent the EU’s dependency in strategic sectors of the economy. 

These 2 conditions are not cumulative.

Support to the development and manufacturing of certain defence technologies (including AI, cybersecurity technologies or drones) was already possible under STEP under the digital sector, where possible in EU programmes open to non-civil exclusive use. To better support the urgent need to increase European defence investments with the EU budget, the Commission proposed in April 2025 to extend the scope of STEP by introducing a fourth strategic sector covering all defence-related technologies, including those falling under the priority capability areas identified in the Joint White Paper “European Defence Readiness 2030”. 

Adopted on 5 November 2025, this new legislation includes targeted amendments to programmes covered under STEP - Horizon Europe (HE), Digital Europe Programme (DEP) and European Defence Fund (EDF) - as well as the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) (the latter not covered by STEP) in order to further mobilize Union’s resources towards defence. 

This new legislation complements the Commission’s Mid-Term Review of Cohesion Policy which entered into force on 19 September 2025, which extended incentives for STEP under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Cohesion Fund (CF), Just Transition Fund (JTF) and European Social Fund + (ESF+) Regulations to further promote competitiveness and investments in defence (as well as in other priority areas).   

The Cohesion Policy Mid-Term Review Regulation foresees a set of incentives to encourage EU Regions and Member States to redirect their cohesion policy funds towards several priorities, including defence and competitiveness (STEP). In particular: 

The 20% ceiling on the ERDF/CF resources that could be reallocated to STEP is lifted.  

The amendments submitted before end December 2025 will enjoy an extension of higher pre-financing possibilities for programmes including STEP priorities, granting a one-off pre-financing of 20%. 

Large enterprises can be supported in all EU regions for both STEP and defence projects (and extended to IPCEIs). 

The 100% co-financing of the STEP priorities remain until the end of the current MFF period.

STEP funds the following defence technologies:

• those listed in the Annex to Directive 2009/43/EC
• those in the EU Common Military List
• technologies in priority capability areas :
  – air and missile defence
  – artillery systems, including deep precision strike capabilities
  – missiles and ammunition
  – drones and anti-drone systems
  – strategic enablers, including in relation to space and critical infrastructure protection, military mobility, cyber, artificial intelligence and electronic warfare.

The other three STEP sectors (digital and deep tech innovation, clean and resource efficient, and bio tech) continue to be supported. As regards artificial intelligence, AI Gigafactories are expected to become key infrastructures to expand rapidly the power of AI in defence technologies.

The stages of development remain the same [development and manufacturing]. Investment in the skills needed to develop or manufacture these technologies can also be supported under STEP.

The Seal aims to make it easier for projects to receive alternative or top-up funding, from various EU sources, especially:

• the cohesion policy funds
• the Just Transition Fund
• Recovery and Resilience Facility
• Modernisation Fund
• InvestEU 

Projects with the Seal will also be showcased on the STEP Portal to enhance their visibility and help them attract more funding.

No – if you apply to a relevant STEP call under one of the above-mentioned programmes, you have the chance to receive the Seal.

There is no legal impediment for managing authorities of member states to support multi-beneficiary projects awarded the STEP seal with cohesion policy funds, although this is generally more complex and requires more coordination between granting authorities compared to mono-beneficiary projects. 

Two possibilities could be envisaged: 1) a single managing authority supports the entire project and provide funding to the beneficiaries, even to those not established in the region/country; 2) several managing authorities support the project, with further two options: a)splitting the project into smaller operation under cohesion policy programme or b) splitting the project costs amongst them under the condition that project falls under the scope of all cohesion policy programmes concerned in its entirety.

Further details on both options can be found in the brochure for STEP national contact points and managing authorities published by the Commission in the STEP Portal.

Projects being awarded a Seal are promoted on the STEP Portal (subject to consent by the project promoters). The Commission also commits to actively promote these projects among public funding bodies, e.g. managing authorities of Cohesion Policy Funds, and private investors. This will provide additional visibility and may help attract public and private funding by certifying their quality and contribution to the STEP objectives. 

Projects holding the Seal:

• cannot relocate outside the EU
• must start within 5 years of receiving the Seal. 

No – it applies only from 1 March 2024 on. 

No – the Seal of Excellence is a quality label under Horizon Europe.

However, a project could potentially be awarded both Seals simultaneously.