The EU is a step closer to agreeing on a new policy framework for boosting its green manufacturing industries, with the member states and the European Parliament ready to start negotiations. The Parliament and the Council of member states have settled on their negotiating positions on the new industrial policy, both aiming to expand the list of strategic technologies and streamline permitting procedures for projects.
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Now in its final stages of approval at institutional level, the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) is one of the most discussed initiatives supporting the development of critical technologies in Europe. The STEP would introduce a “sovereignty seal” for projects deemed worthy of receiving EU funds, driving public and private investment towards ideas aiding the EU’s strategic autonomy agenda in technological development. But how will this work in real life? And what is the STEP’s impact on the various streams of EU funding and their planned priorities?
Europe is a frontrunner when it comes to reducing carbon emissions, but the lack of a wrap around industrial strategy means this is not translating to an economic benefit. As result, decarbonising is increasingly viewed only as a cost and an inconvenience, and opposition to the green agenda is mounting, according to Marc Lemaître, head of the European Commission’s research directorate general.