Progress: Awaiting Council's 1st reading position
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RELead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 57, RoP 58, TFEU 164, TFEU 173-p3, TFEU 175-p3, TFEU 177-p1, TFEU 178-p1, TFEU 182-p1, TFEU 192-p1
Legal Basis:
RoP 57, RoP 58, TFEU 164, TFEU 173-p3, TFEU 175-p3, TFEU 177-p1, TFEU 178-p1, TFEU 182-p1, TFEU 192-p1Subjects
Events
The European Parliament adopted by 385 votes to 85, with 151 abstentions, amendments to the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’) and amending Directive 2003/87/EC, Regulations (EU) 2021/1058, (EU) 2021/1056, (EU) 2021/1057, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) 2021/1060, (EU) 2021/523, (EU) 2021/695, (EU) 2021/697 and (EU) 2021/241.
The issue was referred back to the relevant committee for interinstitutional negotiations.
Objectives of STEP
The regulation should establish a ‘Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform’ (STEP) to support strategic technologies and their respective supply chains in the sectors concerned, and thus contribute to the implementation of the action programme for the digital decade to 2030.
STEP aims to strengthen various EU programmes and funds and to channel up to EUR 160 billion into new investments, alongside cohesion policy incentives and the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
The platform should foster the growth of crucial technological value chains in the digital economy, net-zero industries, and biotechnologies , as well as addressing labour and skill shortages, and foster deep-tech innovation , which has the potential to deliver transformative solutions, rooted in cutting edge science, technology and engineering, including innovation combining advances in the physical, biological and digital spheres.
When implementing programmes and activities to achieve the objectives under this Regulation, the Commission and Member States should put specific emphasis on supporting Net-Zero Industry Valleys projects in territories included in the Territorial just transition plans and in less developed and transition regions, as well as more developed regions in Member States whose average GDP per capita is below the EU average of the EU-27 measured in purchasing power standards (PPS) and calculated on the basis of Union figures for the period 2015-2017.
Financial support
Financial support for the implementation of the Platform should be provided from existing Union programmes, namely InvestEU, Horizon Europe, EU4Health, Digital Europe, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund (JTF), the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the European Defence Fund, and the Innovation Fund, for projects contributing to the STEP objectives.
Members stated that this should be accompanied by providing additional Union funding of EUR 13 billion .
Of this, EUR 5 billion should be used to increase the endowment of the Innovation Fund and EUR 4.2 billion to increase the total amount of the EU guarantee available for the EU compartment under the InvestEU Regulation to EUR 10.5 billion , taking into account the relevant provisioning rate. EUR 1.3 billion should be made available to increase the financial envelope under the Horizon Europe Regulation and EUR 2.5 billion to the European Defence Fund.
Sovereignty Seal
The Commission should award a Sovereignty Seal to any project contributing to the achievement of one of the objectives of the platform, provided that this project has been evaluated and meets the minimum quality requirements. The Seal would be valid during the period of implementation of the project, during which the company undertakes not to relocate the project outside the Union . It would not be awarded to projects managed by a legal entity established in a third country which is not associated with the Union program concerned.
STEP Committee
The STEP Committee should be composed of Commission experts on the technologies and on the Union programmes and funds from which the Platform is financially supported. The Committee should award and promote the Sovereignty Seal and manage the Sovereignty Portal and assume a coordination role between the different networks and actors concerned to achieve the objectives of the platform.
Sovereignty Portal
The Sovereignty Portal should include a rapid simulator to provide project promoters, especially SMEs, guidance on the Union programme or fund for which their particular project may be eligible. The simulator should not require project promoters to provide confidential business information and its results should not be legally binding on the authorities responsible for the awarding of funding.
Evaluation of the Platform
By 31 December 2025, the Commission should provide the European Parliament and the Council with an interim evaluation report on the implementation of the Platform, on the state of dependencies of the Union, and on the sectors of strategic importance for its sovereignty, for the purpose of informing the decision-making process on the post-2027 multiannual financial framework in a timely manner.
The interim evaluation report should be accompanied by a proposal for amendments of this Regulation or by a legislative proposal for a fully-fledged European Sovereignty Fund , with the aim of helping to shape and strengthen a European industrial policy and to reduce strategic dependencies of the Union.
At the end of the implementation of the Union programmes and funds from which the Platform is financially supported, but no later than 31 December 2031, the Commission should provide a final evaluation report.
PURPOSE: to establish the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) to support European leadership on critical technologies.
PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: strengthening the competitiveness of the European economy through the green and digital transformations has been the EU's strategic goal over the last years. Despite its inbuilt resilience, EU industry is being challenged by high inflation, labour shortages, supply chain disruptions, rising interest rates, and spikes in energy costs and input prices. This is paired with strong, and not always fair competition on the fragmented global market. The EU has already put forward several initiatives to support its industry. The EU now needs a more structural answer to the investment needs of its industries. This will support the uptake and scaling up of development and manufacturing of strategic technologies in the EU, in the fields of digital and deep tech, clean tech and biotech. It will help companies seize the opportunities, build resilience and meet the objectives of the green and digital transitions, thereby strengthening European sovereignty.
CONTENT: therefore, the Commission is proposing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP') to support critical and emerging strategic technologies. It lays down the objectives of the Platform, the amount of financial support available under the Platform, and rules for the implementation of the Sovereignty Seal and Sovereignty portal and for reporting on the Platform objectives.
STEP seeks to reinforce, leverage and steer EU funds - existing and new - to investments in deep and digital, clean and bio technologies in the EU, and in people who can implement those technologies into the economy.
STEP’s aims
The aim of this instrument is to support the uptake and scaling up of the development and manufacturing of critical emerging technologies relevant to the green and digital transitions in the EU and to the strategic sovereignty of the Union. Those are:
- deep and digital technologies ,
- clean technologies and,
- biotechnologies .
The technologies will be deemed to be critical where they meet at least one of the following conditions: (a) bring an innovative, cutting-edge element with significant economic potential to the Single Market; (b) contribute to reduce or prevent strategic dependencies of the Union.
STEP will also support investments aimed at reinforcing their value chains, thereby reducing the EU's strategic dependencies, strengthening European sovereignty and economic security, and addressing labour and skills shortages in those strategic sectors. This will allow to enhance the long-term competitiveness of the EU and strengthen its resilience.
This proposal does not create a new instrument but is implemented through existing tools under the EU budget, such as InvestEU, Innovation Fund, Horizon Europe, EU4Health, Digital Europe Programme, European Defence Fund, Recovery and Resilience Facility, and cohesion policy funds, which are amended to be able to better mobilise investment resources into critical technologies.
Financial support
To boost the investment capacity dedicated specifically to promoting STEP objectives, the Commission further proposes to allocate additional EUR 10 billion to targeted programmes:
- EUR 3 billion for InvestEU, resulting in EUR 75 billion of investments;
- EUR 0.5 billion to Horizon Europe, complemented with EUR 2.13 billion of redeployment and use of decommitted amounts, resulting in EUR 13 billion of investments;
- EUR 5 billion to the Innovation Fund, resulting in EUR 20 billion of investments given the experience to date under the Innovation Fund;
- EUR 1.5 billion to the European Defence Fund, which could result in up to EUR 2 billion of investments.
Altogether, the total estimated amount of new investments through STEP could reach up to EUR 160 billion .
Sovereignty Seal
The proposal creates a ‘Sovereignty Seal’, which is a new label intended to help project promoters attract public and private investments by certifying its contribution to the STEP objectives. The Sovereignty Seal would be awarded under directly managed programmes, namely Horizon Europe, the Innovation Fund, the Digital Europe programme, the EU4Health programme, and the European Defence Fund. The Seal builds on the existing ‘Seal of Excellence’, which is a quality label for eligible projects that could not be funded due to lack of budget available.
Sovereignty portal
The Commission will establish a dedicated publicly available website (Sovereignty portal), providing investors with information about funding opportunities for projects linked to the Platform objectives and grant visibility to those projects.
Documents
- Contribution: COM(2023)0335
- Contribution: COM(2023)0335
- Decision by Parliament, 1st reading: T9-0364/2023
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Committee opinion: PE753.469
- Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A9-0290/2023
- Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading: A9-0290/2023
- Committee of the Regions: opinion: CDR3512/2023
- Committee opinion: PE752.779
- Committee opinion: PE753.684
- Committee opinion: PE753.709
- Specific opinion: PE752.672
- Economic and Social Committee: opinion, report: CES3586/2023
- Specific opinion: PE752.840
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE752.907
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE752.908
- Committee draft report: PE752.782
- Legislative proposal published: COM(2023)0335
- Legislative proposal published: EUR-Lex
- Committee draft report: PE752.782
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE752.907
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE752.908
- Specific opinion: PE752.840
- Specific opinion: PE752.672
- Economic and Social Committee: opinion, report: CES3586/2023
- Committee opinion: PE752.779
- Committee opinion: PE753.684
- Committee opinion: PE753.709
- Committee of the Regions: opinion: CDR3512/2023
- Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A9-0290/2023
- Committee opinion: PE753.469
- Contribution: COM(2023)0335
- Contribution: COM(2023)0335
Activities
- José Manuel FERNANDES
Plenary Speeches (3)
- 2023/10/16 Establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’) (debate)
- 2023/10/16 Establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’) (debate)
- 2023/10/17 Establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’) (A9-0290/2023 - José Manuel Fernandes, Christian Ehler) (vote)
- Christian EHLER
Plenary Speeches (2)
- Franc BOGOVIČ
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Maria da Graça CARVALHO
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Rosa D'AMATO
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Cornelia ERNST
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Jonás FERNÁNDEZ
Plenary Speeches (1)
- András GYÜRK
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Eva MAYDELL
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Younous OMARJEE
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Rovana PLUMB
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Pirkko RUOHONEN-LERNER
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Maria SPYRAKI
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Patrizia TOIA
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Josianne CUTAJAR
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Clare DALY
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Thierry MARIANI
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Rasmus ANDRESEN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Tom BERENDSEN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Henrike HAHN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Lefteris NIKOLAOU-ALAVANOS
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Mauri PEKKARINEN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Mick WALLACE
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Anna Júlia DONÁTH
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Valérie HAYER
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Margarida MARQUES
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Eugen JURZYCA
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Karlo RESSLER
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Bogdan RZOŃCA
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Isabel BENJUMEA BENJUMEA
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Geert BOURGEOIS
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Eugen TOMAC
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Günther SIDL
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Tsvetelina PENKOVA
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Martin HLAVÁČEK
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Marc ANGEL
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Miriam LEXMANN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Riho TERRAS
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Sara MATTHIEU
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Eva Maria POPTCHEVA
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Matthias ECKE
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Johan NISSINEN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Denis NESCI
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Beatrice COVASSI
Plenary Speeches (1)
ID
The Left
NI