EU Sovereignty Finance: Mapping the STEP Platform’s €24 Billion Dual-Use Funding Infrastructure

In the aftermath of the EU’s 2025 defence readiness mandate, Europe has undertaken a substantive recalibration of its financial architecture, dismantling the long-standing separation between civil and military funding through the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform.

By repurposing eleven existing programmes, STEP establishes a horizontal sovereignty window that enables regional, research and investment instruments to converge on high-priority dual-use and defence-relevant technologies. At the centre of this shift is the STEP Seal, which functions as a marker of strategic relevance and accelerates the mobilisation of both public and private capital.

This analysis answers: How does the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) dismantle the civil-military funding separation via a horizontal sovereignty window? How does STEP repurpose eleven existing programmes to converge on dual-use and defence-relevant technologies? How does the STEP Seal mark strategic relevance and mobilise public and private capital? What are the implications of STEP's 24 billion euro dual-use funding infrastructure for beneficiaries and capital?