Sixteen EU Member States have sent their comments on the Commission’s proposal for a Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’) to replace the Sovereignty Fund to the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU (see EUROPE 13226/4, 13205/3). According to a document obtained by EUROPE, several countries, including the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, have expressed reservations about the principle of injecting new funds into the budget in general, including to finance STEP objectives.
Most of the delegations that sent in their comments and questions also asked the Commission to clarify the coverage of STEP. They question the definition of “clean technologies, deep tech and biotechnology”, which are the three sectors whose projects should be supported by the platform.
The Lithuanians believe that a list of technologies should be kept open, “considering the fast development of new technologies”. The Netherlands, on the other hand, questions the Commission’s decision to include biotechnology within the scope of the instrument.
Many respondents also asked for details of how the sovereignty portal would work, and questioned possible duplication with other platforms or tools, such as the “InvestEU” portal.
See comments: https://aeur.eu/f/871 (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)