The STEP Sovereignty Seal: Regulatory Logic, Eligibility Criteria, and Strategic Implications for Defence and Dual-Use Companies

How the EU’s Sovereignty Seal reshapes funding access, risk allocation, and strategic positioning across critical defence and dual-use technologies

With the introduction of the Sovereignty Seal under the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), the European Union has equipped its industrial policy with a selective and formalised instrument designed to identify and support projects deemed essential to European technological sovereignty. The Seal is neither a new funding vehicle nor an auto…