Sovereignty Seals (STEP)
INITIATIVECompetitiveness, Innovation & Strategic Investment
To amplify the Innovation Fund’s impact, the Commission will mobilise additional financing for projects awarded a STEP Sovereignty Seal by creating stronger synergies between EU instruments and Member-State schemes. It will align funding criteria between the Innovation Fund and national support to speed State-aid decisions for STEP-labelled projects and encourage governments to commit co-financing, maximising deployment across EU regions. The STEP seal will function as a streamlined fast lane for bankable industrial decarbonisation and clean-tech investments, improving predictability, reducing transaction costs, and crowding in private capital through de-risking, while safeguarding competition and cohesion across the Single Market.