The Regulation on the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) was published on 29 February 2024. STEP has created incentives to direct cohesion policy funding towards investments in critical sectors to help bolster the EU manufacturing capacity and strategic autonomy for digital, net-zero and biotechnologies.
A dedicated webinar took place on 25 April 2024 to discuss the novelties brought by the STEP proposal into cohesion policy in relation to both 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 programming periods.
The webinar informed about:
Features of the STEP Platform were presented in relation to cohesion policy, including critical sectors, Sovereignty Seal funding rules, and role of the Sovereignty Portal in facilitating investments.
Rules for financial support to critical sectors under ERDF, CF, ESF+ and JTF were explained such as the scope of support, the programming particularities, the exceptional pre-financing, increased co-financing as well as the conjunction of STEP-related programme amendments with the mid-term review.
Amended closure rules for cohesion policy Funds and the Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived (FEAD) were outlined.
Agenda:
Presentations:
Recording
Recording of the seminar
Documents
