The European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament announced on Tuesday (18th) that they have reached a consensus on the content of a 43 billion euro EU Chips Act, which is only the final step away from its formal passage.
The EU Chips Act is a proposed legislation in the European Union aimed at boosting the production and distribution of semiconductor chips within the bloc. The proposal was announced in September 2021 by the European Commission as part of its broader plan to increase Europe's technological autonomy and resilience.
According to the proposal, the EU intends to invest €20 billion in the chip industry over the next decade, with the aim of increasing the region's share of global production from the current 10% to 20% by 2030. The proposal also includes measures to improve supply chain transparency, data sharing, and research and development.
Chips are strategic assets for key industrial value chains. With the digital transformation, new markets for the chip industry are emerging such as highly automated cars, cloud, Internet of Things, connectivity, space, defence and supercomputers.
As for the European Chip Act objectives: first, in the short term, to improve resilience to future crises by making forecasts and thus avoiding supply chain disruptions. Second, to focus on medium-term development, so that Europe can become an industry leader in this very strategic market.
Strengthen Europe’s research and technology leadership towards smaller and faster chips.
Put in place a framework to increase production capacity to 20% of the global market by 2030.
Build and reinforce capacity to innovate in the design, manufacturing and packaging of advanced chips.
Develop an in-depth understanding of the global semiconductor supply chains.
Address the skills shortage, attract new talent and support the emergence of a skilled workforce.
