Introduzione

With the adoption of the STEP Regulation (EU) 795/2024, the European Union introduced a new strategic orientation for cohesion policy, aimed at strengthening the EU's industrial competitiveness through strategic autonomy and the development of critical technologies. In Italy, as of 31st August  2024, ten cohesion programmes have joined the STEP initiative, reprogramming a total of €2,978.7 million in the priority sectors identified by the Regulation. The participating 2021-2027 programs are:  

The highest amount of the resources (70%) come from the ERDF Regional Programmes, while the remaining come from the National Research, Innovation and Competitiveness Programme (18.7%) and the two Multi-Fund (ERDF/ESF+) Regional Programmes (11.3%).  

The investments are primarily focused on large enterprises (62.62%) and SMEs (30.23%). The remaining resources will finance research and skills development activities in STEP's intervention sectors. These interventions represent an important opportunity to consolidate Italian role in strategic industrial sectors and contribute to the sustainability and innovation objectives set by the EU. A summary of the STEP reprogramming of the 2021-2027 Italian Cohesion Programmes is available, highlighting the strategic sectors identified and the amount of funding allocated to them.  

In the second moment, as of 31st March 2025, five additional Cohesion Programmes joined the STEP initiative, reprogramming funds in the priority sectors identified by the Regulation. The participating 2021-2027 programmes are: