On 4 August 2026, the European Commission adopted an Implementing Decision amending the 2026 European Innovation Council (EIC) work programme to introduce a new “STEP Defence Call” that will fund dual-use and critical defence technologies for start-ups, SMEs, and small mid-caps. The decision, published as C(2026)5609, sets the maximum Union contribution for the EIC in 2026 at EUR 2 125 159 670, financed from budget line 01.020301, with transferred resources from the ERDF and Cohesion Fund set at EUR 0. The call will be financed by EIC Fund reflows from unspent amounts of the EIC pilot under Horizon 2020 (2014–2020). It targets deep-tech areas including artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, cybersecurity, quantum, robotics, and secure communications, and is designed to avoid duplication with the European Defence Fund, InvestEU, and other Union instruments.
The decision amends Implementing Decision C(2025)7410, which originally established the 2026 EIC work programme. The legal basis for the amendment is Regulation (EU) 2025/2653, which allows EIC Accelerator support for actions with potential dual-use applications. This regulatory change, adopted in the previous year, expanded the EIC's mandate beyond purely civilian technologies, enabling the Commission to channel support to defence-related innovations. The new STEP Defence Call operationalises that mandate, marking a significant step in aligning EU innovation funding with defence priorities.
The STEP Defence Call is part of a broader EU push to strengthen defence technological sovereignty, following the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) initiative. The call's focus on dual-use technologies reflects a policy shift toward leveraging civilian research for defence purposes, a trend that has gained momentum since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. The Commission's decision to fund the call through Horizon 2020 reflows, rather than new budget lines, indicates a preference for reallocating existing resources rather than increasing overall EU spending.
The introduction of the STEP Defence Call is expected to have a significant impact on several stakeholders. For EU start-ups and SMEs in the deep-tech sector, the call opens new funding opportunities for projects with both civilian and military applications, potentially accelerating their growth and market access. However, it also imposes new compliance requirements, as companies must navigate dual-use export controls and security-related conditions. For the European Defence Fund and InvestEU, the call necessitates careful coordination to avoid overlapping investments, which could lead to administrative complexity. For EU taxpayers, the use of reflows from the Horizon 2020 pilot means that funds originally allocated for civilian research are now being redirected to defence-related projects, a trade-off between security priorities and civilian innovation. For the European Commission, the decision strengthens its role in defence innovation, but it also raises questions about the long-term balance between civilian and military research funding within the EU's framework programmes.
The decision is effective from 4 August 2026, and the Commission will now implement the call in coordination with the EIC and other relevant bodies. The European Parliament and the Council are expected to scrutinise the implementation, particularly regarding the use of Horizon 2020 reflows and the potential impact on civilian research priorities. The STEP Defence Call is likely to be a topic of discussion in upcoming parliamentary debates on defence innovation and the future of EU research funding.