This global semiconductor shortage It started in late 2020, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The EU’s response, given the widespread scarcity of a product so essential to any device used in everyday life, is European Chip Law To increase production in the European continent. Council and European Parliament negotiators managed to close a meeting on Tuesday. temporary political agreement aiming to double the EU’s world market share by 10% to 20% minimum by 2030.
“This agreement is crucial for the ecological and digital transition while ensuring the EU’s resilience in turbulent times. The swift implementation of the agreement will change our dependence on market leadership, our vulnerability to sovereignty and our investment spending”, Swedish Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, Ebba Buch It’s about a basic element for all kinds of everyday products, from credit cards to cars or smartphones. For example, a single smartphone contains 160 chips, while a car needs 3,500 chips to run.
“In a geopolitical context of risk reduction, Europe is taking its fate into its own hands. “The EU will become an industrial powerhouse in the markets of the future by specializing in the most advanced semiconductors.” Thierry Bretonabout another important initiative to keep earning strategic autonomy and vulnerability reduction and independence from third countries.
80% of suppliers outside the EU
With the development of artificial intelligence, 5G networks or the Internet of Things, the demand and market opportunities for chips and semiconductors are expected to increase significantly. The problem is that about 80% of the suppliers of European companies currently operating in the semiconductor industry are located outside the EU. With the adoption of the Chip Law, the EU aims to strengthen its capacities in semiconductor manufacturing to ensure its future competitiveness and maintain its technological leadership and security of supply.
The plan, which still needs to be finalized and approved by both the Council and the European Parliament, includes an initiative to develop technological capacity on a large scale. mobilize 43,000 million euros in public-private investments, of which 3,300 million will come from the European budget. These actions will be carried out mainly through the Chips Joint Venture, a public-private partnership involving the EU, Member States and the private sector. The plan also includes a framework for securing supply and resilience by attracting investment, and a crisis response and surveillance system to anticipate supply shortages and respond in case of crisis.