Changes from adopted text to adopted text

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 2: 2. The technologies, including their supply chains, referred to in point (a) of the first paragraph, shall be deemed to be critical where they meet at least one of the following conditions:

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2(new): By ... [two months after the entry into force of this Regulation], the Commission shall adopt a delegated act, to supplement this Regulation by defining how the technologies, including their supply chains, referred to in paragraph 1, point (a), of this Article can meet the conditions of this paragraph. The delegated act shall be reviewed in light of the interim evaluation report referred to in Article 8.

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 3: deleted

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 4: 4. The supply chain for the manufacturing of technologies referred to in paragraph 1 relates to final products, as well as components, machinery and critical raw materials as set out in Annex II to Regulation (EU) .../... [Critical Raw Materials Act] which are indispensable for the production and functioning of those products.

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 4a (new): 4a. Strategic projects as identified under Regulation (EU) .../... [Net-Zero Industry Act], that comply with either the resilience criteria as defined in Article 10(1)(a) of that Regulation or with the competitiveness criteria as defined in Article 10(1)(b) of that Regulation in the selection process of net-zero strategic projects, and and (EU) .... [Critical Raw Materials Act]) shall be considered to fulfil the objectives of the STEP Platform as referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 4b (new): 4b. When implementing programmes and activities to achieve the objectives under this Regulation, the Commission and Member States shall put specific emphasis on supporting Net-Zero Industry Valleys as defined in Regulation (EU) .../... [Net-Zero Industry Act] projects in territories included in the Territorial just transition plans as referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1056. 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.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Financial support for the implementation of the Platform shall be provided from existing Union programmes and funds. To reinforce their ability to deliver on the STEP objectives, additional funding shall be provided to the following Union programmes and funds:

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) a Union guarantee referred to in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/523 with the indicative amount of EUR 10 500 000 000, which shall be implemented in accordance with that Regulation;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) an amount of EUR 1 300 000 000 in current prices of the financial envelope referred to in point (i) of Article 12(2)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, which shall be implemented in accordance with that Regulation;

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point c: (c) an amount of EUR 5 000 000 000 in current prices of the financial envelope referred to in the sixth subparagraph of Article 10a(8) of Directive 2003/87/EC, which shall be implemented within the Innovation Fund in accordance with the rules of Article 10a(8) of Directive 2003/87/EC and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/856.

RemovedArticle 3 – paragraph 1 – point d: (d) An amount of EUR 2 500 000 000 in current prices of the financial envelope referred to in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/697, which shall be implemented in accordance with that Regulation.

RemovedArticle 4 – title: Sovereignty Seal, combined and cumulative funding

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 1: 1. The Commission shall award a Sovereignty Seal to any project contributing to any of the Platform objectives, provided that the project has been assessed and complies with the minimum quality requirements, in particular eligibility, exclusion and award criteria, provided by a call for proposals under Regulation (EU) 2021/695, Regulation (EU) 2021/694, Regulation (EU) 2021/697, Regulation (EU) 2021/522, Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 or Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/856, or has been identified as a strategic project as defined in Regulation (EU) .../... ('Net Zero Industry Act'), if that project complies with either the resilience criteria as defined in Article 10(1), point (a), of that Regulation or with the competitiveness criteria as defined in Article 10(1)(b) of the NZIA Regulation in the selection process of net-zero strategic projects, or as defined in Regulation (EU) .../... ('Critical Raw Materials Act'). Those calls for proposals shall be continuously open.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. When assessing whether a project contributes to any of the Platform objectives in accordance with paragraph 1, the Commission shall take into account the contribution of the project to the strengthening and structuring of local networks of industrial actors and its contribution to the creation of jobs.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 1 b (new): 1b. The Sovereignty Seal shall be valid for the period of the implementation of the project, during which there shall be a commitment from the company not to relocate the project outside of the Union. If a project has not started withinfive years of the award of the Sovereignty Seal, it can be reviewed for the purpose of compatibility with STEP strategic priorities. When conducting the above-mentioned review, the Commission shall ensure that all projects comply with Union’s and national labour law, social rights and workers’ rights, as well as applicable collective agreements.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 1 c (new): 1c. The Sovereignty Seal shall not be awarded to projects managed by a legal entity established in a third country that is not associated to the Union programme concerned or, where it is established in the Union or in an associated country that has its executive management structures in a non-associated country.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 1 d (new): 1d. Projects managed by legal entities forming a consortium shall be awarded a Sovereignty Seal only if at least one independent legal entity forming that consortium is established in a Member State and at least two other independent legal entities forming that consortium are established in different Member States or associated countries.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 2 – introductory part: 2. The Sovereignty Seal shall be used as a quality label, in particular for the purposes of:

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 2 – point a: (a) receiving support for the project under another Union fund or programme in accordance with the rules applicable to that fund or programme, or

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 2 – point b: (b) financing the project through cumulative or combined funding with another Union instrument in line with the rules of the applicable basic acts.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 3: 3. When revising their recovery and resilience plans in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/241, Member States shall, without prejudice to the provisions of that Regulation, consider as a priority projects, which have been awarded a Sovereignty Seal in accordance with paragraph 1.

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 4: 4. When deciding on investment projects to finance from their respective shares of the Modernisation Fund in accordance with Article 10d of Directive 2003/87/EC, Member States shall consider those projects for net-zero technologies as a priority as defined in the Regulation (EU) .../... [Net-Zero Industry Act] which have received the Sovereignty Seal in accordance with paragraph 1. In addition, Member States may decide to grant national support to projects with a Sovereignty Seal contributing to the Platform objective for net-zero technologies as defined in the Regulation Regulation (EU) .../... [Net-Zero Industry Act].

RemovedArticle 4 – paragraph 5: 5. Under Regulation (EU) 2021/523, the Sovereignty Seal shall be taken into account in the context of the procedure provided for in Article 19 of the European Investment Bank Statute and of the policy check as laid down in Article 23(3) of that Regulation. In addition, the implementing partners shall examine in a timely manner projects having been awarded the Sovereignty Seal in case they fall within their geographic and activity scope as laid down in Article 26(5) of that Regulation.

RemovedArticle 4 a (new): Article 4a / STEP Committee / 1. The Commission shall set up a STEP Committee composed of Commission experts on the technologies referred to in Article 2(1) , point (a) and on the Union programmes and funds from which the Platform is financially supported. / 2. The STEP Committee shall have the following tasks: / (a) to award and promote the Sovereignty Seal referred to in Article 4(1) and to liaise with managing authorities responsible for calls for proposals and calls for tender to increase the funding opportunities across programmes for projects that have been awarded the Sovereignty Seal, without interfering in the selection procedures; / (b) to award the Sovereignty Seal to projects funded by the Cohesion policy funds that contribute to the Platform objectives as set out in Article 2 of this Regulation; / (c) to set up and manage the Sovereignty portal in accordance with Article 6; / (d) to liaise with other existing structures, especially the Net-Zero Europe Platform established in accordance with Regulation (EU) .../... [Net Zero Industry Act] and the Critical Raw Materials Board established pursuant to Regulation (EU) .../... [Critical Raw Materials Act], national competent authorities designated in accordance with Article 6(4) of this Regulation, implementing partners and the Industrial Advisory Group referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, with a view to coordinating and exchanging information about the financial needs of, the existing bottlenecks and the best p…

RemovedArticle 5: deleted / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted)

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. The Commission shall establish a dedicated publicly available website (the ‘Sovereignty portal’), providing information about funding opportunities for projects linked to the Platform objectives and granting visibility to those projects, in particular by displaying the following information:

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) information about Union programmes and funds within the scope of this Regulation and ongoing and upcoming calls for proposals and calls for tender linked to the Platform objectives under the respective programmes and funds;

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 1 – point d: (d) contact details of the national competent authorities designated in accordance with paragraph 4;

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. The Sovereignty Portal shall 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 shall not require project promoters to provide confidential business information and its results shall not be legally binding on the authorities responsible for the awarding of funding

RemovedArticle 6 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. For projects related to security and defence, information shall be displayed only on a case-by-case basis, if deemed necessary by the project promoter or the Commission, taking into consideration the confidentiality of security of information in defence matters.

RemovedArticle 7 – title: Monitoring and annual reporting

RemovedArticle 7 – paragraph 1: 1. The Commission shall monitor the implementation of the Platform and measure the achievement of the objectives of the Platform laid down in Article 2. The monitoring of the implementation shall be targeted and proportionate to the activities carried out under the Platform.

RemovedArticle 7 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. The Commission shall design the monitoring system in such a way that data for monitoring the implementation of activities carried out under the Platform and the results of those activities is collected efficiently, effectively and in a timely manner. To that end, proportionate reporting requirements shall be imposed on the beneficiaries of funding.

RemovedArticle 7 – paragraph 1 b (new): 1b. The Commission shall provide an annual report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of the Platform. The annual report shall be made publicly available.

RemovedArticle 7 – paragraph 2: 2. The annual report shall include consolidated information on the progress made in implementing the Platform objectives under each of the programmes and funds as well as qualitative and quantitative information on the Platform's contribution to cross-border projects and to projects per Member State.

RemovedArticle 7 – paragraph 3 – point a: (a) overall expenditure of the STEP financed under the respective programmes and funds;

RemovedArticle 7 – paragraph 3 – point b a (new): (ba) an impact assessment determining how the accumulated projects under STEP contribute to the Union’s strategic objectives on ensuring long-term competitiveness;

RemovedArticle 7 – paragraph 3 – point b b (new): (bb) an analysis of the geographical and technological distribution of the projects that have been awarded the Sovereignty Seal.

RemovedArticle 8 – paragraph 1: 1. By 31 December 2025, the Commission shall 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.

RemovedArticle 8 – paragraph 2: 2. The interim evaluation report shall, in particular, assess to which extent the STEP has contributed to the achievement of the objectives, the efficiency of the use of the resources and the European added value of the Platform. It shall also provide an overview of the regions for which the programmes have been amended, including information on relevant aspects of the partnership principle, consider the continued relevance of all objectives and projects, in view of their potential upscaling, and assess the feasibility of combining all existing publicly available websites managed by the Commission and providing information on Union programmes and funds under direct, shared and indirect management in a single portal, to bring Union funding opportunities closer to potential beneficiaries and enhance transparency towards Union citizens.

RemovedArticle 8 – paragraph 3: 3. Where appropriate, the interim evaluation report shall 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, and which ensures the correct functioning of the single market, while avoiding market distortions and creating a level playing field in the Union and third countries. Where the Commission chooses not to present a legislative proposal for a European Sovereignty Fund, it shall provide reasons for its decision in its interim evaluation report.

RemovedArticle 8 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. 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 shall provide the European Parliament and the Council with a final evaluation report on implementation of the Platform. The final evaluation report shall be accompanied by a thorough assessment of differentiated territorial impacts and effects on cohesion resulting from the implementation of the Platform.

RemovedDirective 2003/87/EC

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 10a – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 6: In addition to the allowances referred to in the first to fifth subparagraphs of this paragraph, the Innovation Fund shall also implement a financial envelope for the period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2027 of EUR 5 000 000 000 in current prices for supporting investments contributing to the STEP objective for net-zero technologies as defined in [Article 3, point (a)] of Regulation (EU) .../... [Net-Zero Industry Act] by making this financial envelope available for Strategic Projects as defined in [Article 2, point (e)] the Regulation (EU) .../... [Net-Zero Industry Act], provided that they comply with the resilience or competitiveness criteria laid down in Article 10 (1), point (a) or (b), of Regulation (EU) …/... [Net-Zero Industry Act]. Until 31 December 2025, the financial envelope shall be made available in equal parts to support investments in: / (a) Member States whose average GDP per capita is below the Union average of the EU-27 measured in purchasing power standards (PPS) and calculated on the basis of Union figures for the period 2015-2017; and / (b) all Member States. / From 1 January 2026, unused funds of the financial envelope shall be made available to support these investments in all Member States. / 62a Regulation (EU) .../... of the European Parliament and the Council of .... 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 1303/2…

RemovedRegulation (EU) 2021/1058

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point ix: (ix) supporting investments contributing to the STEP objective referred to in Article 2 of Regulation .../... [STEP Regulation]

RemovedRegulation (EU) 2021/1058

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 1 – point 3, Article 3 – paragraph 1a: 1a. The resources under the specific objective referred to in Article 3(1), points (a)(vi) and (b)(ix) shall be programmed under dedicated priorities corresponding to the respective policy objective and shall be limited to a maximum of 20% of the initial allocation of the ERDF. / The Commission shall pay 30 % of the ERDF allocation to the priorities referred to in the first subparagraph as set out in the decision approving the programme amendment as exceptional one-off pre-financing in addition to the yearly pre-financing for the programme provided for in Article 90(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 or in Article 51(2), (3) and (4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1059. The exceptional pre-financing shall be paid by 31 December 2024, provided the Commission has adopted the decision approving the programme amendment by 31 October 2024. / By way of derogation from Article 112 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the co-financing rates for dedicated priorities established to support the STEP objectives referred to in Article 2 of Regulation…/… [STEP Regulation] may all be increased up to 100 %.’

RemovedRegulation (EU) 2021/1058

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 1 – point 4, Article 5 – paragaph 2 – point e: (e) when they contribute to the specific objective under PO 1 set out in Article 3(1), first subparagraph, point (a)(vi) or to the specific objective under PO 2 set out in point (b)(ix) of that subparagraph, 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, while preserving a focus on SMEs and mid-caps.

RemovedRegulation (EU) 2021/1058

Removed(6) In Annex I, Table I, the following row is added under policy objective 1:

Removed(6) In Annex I, Table I, the following row is added under policy objective 1:

RemovedRegulation (EU) 2021/1058

Removed(7) In Annex I, Table I, the following row is added under policy objective 2:

Removed(7) In Annex I, Table I, the following row is added under policy objective 2:

RemovedRegulation (EU) 2021/1056

RemovedArticle 11 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2: In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the JTF shall contribute to the specific objective of enabling regions and people to address the social, employment, economic and environmental impacts of the transition towards the Union’s 2030 targets for energy and climate and a climate-neutral economy of the Union by 2050, based on the Paris Agreement. The JTF may also support investments contributing to the STEP objective referred to in Article 2 of Regulation .../... [STEP Regulation].

RemovedRegulation (EU) 2021/1056

RemovedArticle 11 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 8 – paragraph 2 – new subparagraph: The JTF also supports productive investments in enterprises, with a focus on SMEs and mid-caps, contributing to the STEP objectives referred to in Article 2 of Regulation .../...65 [STEP Regulation]. That support may be provided irrespective of whether the gap analysis was carried out in accordance with Article 11(2)(h) and irrespective of its outcome. Such investments shall only be eligible where they do not lead to relocation as defined in point (27) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. Apprenticeships and jobs, education or training for new skills shall be considered in the awarding decision. The provision of such support shall not require a revision of the territorial just transition plan.