The European Union should focus on manufacturing highly specialised, high value-added chips, such as those for the quantum or photonics sectors, where it already excels, without cutting itself off from international collaborations.
It should also ensure that future European investments to increase EU chip production do not overlook any region or territory, and that all the bloc’s industrial ecosystems and SMEs are integrated into future projects, a point specifically raised by the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania.
These were the key political messages delivered on Thursday 24 September by the EU27 ministers responsible for competitiveness. They had been invited to offer their initial political guidance on the draft regulation known as the Chips Act 2.0 (see EUROPE 13880/3), which updates an earlier instrument released in 2023 and places greater emphasis on chips for artificial intelligence.
The ministers welcomed the scheme presented in June by the Commission, which aims to strengthen the EU’s position in global semiconductor production.
The EU currently ranks seventh, behind the United States, China, Korea and Singapore, noted German Economy and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche.
However, many ministers also emphasised that strengthening the EU’s sovereignty in this field does not equate to “self-sufficiency” or a goal of producing everything within the EU, as clarified by Estonia’s deputy permanent representative.
Many ministers deemed this prospect unrealistic, instead calling for strong international ties with trusted third countries to be maintained and for efforts to position the EU in highly specialised production areas upon which other third countries could also depend.
Luxembourg’s representative argued that the EU should focus on “AI, quantum technologies, space, defence, health technologies or niche technologies”, while reconciling “our status as a trusted partner and respecting our international agreements”.
“Total autonomy” in semiconductors is not “achievable” in the EU, he added.
Meanwhile, French Industry Minister Sébastien Martin clarified what a “domestic undertaking” should mean under the regulation. This domestic entity should be defined first by the location of production within the EU and “then [by] the company’s nationality”.
While the Chips Act 2.0 strongly encourages supported companies to generate European added value, the Cloud and AI Development Act sets more stringent criteria.
In this regard, the minister mentioned joint work with the Netherlands on targeted and proportionate European criteria for public procurement in the digital sector.
Trade defence for silicon. The French minister also raised concerns about the price of silicon, which is available in the EU and essential for semiconductor manufacturing, as China engages in predatory pricing and threatens European production.
“We’ve been calling for trade protection measures for 18 months”, the minister said, citing Spain in particular. These countries are calling for “immediate import registration and preventive measures before the end of the year”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)