The vast majority of MEPs on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) pointed to the lack of budget planned by the European Commission to put the European Union back in the international race for the production of semiconductors, especially very high performance ones, during a debate on Thursday 13 October.
The first salvo was fired by Dan Nica (S&D, Romanian), the rapporteur of the ‘Chips Act’. “So the good news is that we have €3.3 billion. The bad news is that the remaining part, the €50 billion, they are only virtual money”, he said at the presentation of his report, refuting the European Commission’s announcement of €43 billion (see EUROPE 12886/1).
He therefore looks forward to the mid-term review of the MFF, which will take place next year. For him, it is now essential to have the support of the Committee on Budgets on this issue. In addition, the ‘Recovery and Resilience Facility’ should be used to the fullest, he stressed. So far, only 12 Member States have earmarked RRF investments for semiconductors, he regretted.
Henrike Hahn (Greens/EFA, German) insisted on “new money” for this issue. In his view, repurposing funds already allocated is not an “adequate” approach, recalling, like other parliamentarians, the hundreds of billions budgeted by the United States or China.
However, some MEPs warned against reckless spending. “We shouldn’t fall into the trap of trying to solve the problem just by throwing lots of money at it”, replied Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) rapporteur Tiemo Wölken (S&D, German). For him, it is above all necessary to target the effort as well as possible and prioritise investments.
Christian Ehler (EPP, German) expressed strong reservations about the plan to redirect funds from the Horizon Europe framework programme, recalling that the EU Council is planning a €660 million cut in the annual budget, on top of previous imbalances.
The rapporteur for the Committee on Budgets, Karlo Ressler (EPP, Croatian), acknowledged the weakness of the draft budgetary architecture. For him, salvation will come from the negotiations on the mid-term review of the Multiannual Financial Framework.
MEPs also stressed the importance of developing quantum technology and training a skilled workforce for it.
The question of the territorial distribution of European aid was mentioned by several MEPs, starting with the rapporteur, and also by Eva Maydell (EPP, Bulgarian). However, this approach was strongly criticised by Bart Groothuis (Renew Europe, Dutch) and Tom Beredsen (EPP, Dutch). For the latter two, the ‘Chips Act’ does not pursue the same objectives as cohesion policy.
The question regarding the place of the automotive sector and the protection of property rights in trade with third countries was also addressed by several MEPs. The lack of an impact assessment has also been repeatedly pointed out, notably by Eva Maydell.
The rapporteur reported a general delay in the negotiations on the text due to the fact that the other associated committees are slow to give their opinions. The objective would be for Parliament to be ready in the first quarter of 2023 for an interinstitutional agreement to be reached within the next year.
On the EU Council side, negotiations are well underway. A text should be submitted shortly to the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) for discussion, with approval likely on 16 November, several diplomatic sources told us. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)