The Valencian Community’s Regional Secretary for Industry, Trade and Consumption, Philip Carrasco, signed a certificate of participation this Thursday in Brussels for the establishment of the European Association of Semiconductor Regions (ESRA). This makes the Valencian Community a founder of the network, which aims to foster knowledge sharing. According to Generalitat reports, ESRA seeks to unite the sector’s shared interests and effectively represent them before European Union institutions. In total, 27 European regions are founding members of the alliance, four of which are Spanish.
Valencian authorities emphasize that this marks a strategic agreement for the region, reflecting the current focus on the semiconductor sector. Today, more than half of the skilled workforce in the sector operates domestically, with strengths concentrated within regional autonomy in Spain.
Carrasco highlighted the importance of honoring this agreement within the framework of policies encouraging industry growth for semiconductors, guided by leadership from the Innovation, Industry, Economy and Tourism department. He noted the founding law issued under the initiative of the minister in charge.
The agreement aims to connect international and national companies to promote international semiconductor partnerships with like-minded countries, along with universities, government agencies, research institutions, and public-private research consortia, as stated in the agreement text.
Carrasco at the Commission’s headquarters in Brussels. Information
Alliance promoted by the Free State of Saxony, with the regional development minister acting as rapporteur for the European Committee of the Regions concerning the EU Chip Law.
The alliance’s primary objective is to boost the growth and competitiveness of the semiconductor industry across regions and Europe. It focuses on sharing knowledge and best practices, encouraging cooperation and innovation, and supporting the development of strong, integrated and resilient value chains. A key aim is to reduce dependence on foreign sources for critical raw materials.
In this sense, the alliance is viewed as a regional platform and one of the partners of the European Commission’s “Chip Law”. It seeks to actively strengthen Europe’s position in global semiconductor competition.
Chip Law
On 8 February 2022, the European Commission proposed a broad package of measures to fortify the EU semiconductor ecosystem: the European Chip Act (ECA). The plan aims to increase Europe’s market share in chip production from today’s 10% to 20% by 2030.
To reach this target, the Commission proposed mobilizing up to 430 billion euros in public and private investments. The intention is to stimulate chip manufacturing within the EU, reducing dependence on other markets such as Asia or the United States. The European Chip Act still requires ratification by Member States before it can take effect.
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Within the global semiconductor value chain, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation notes that each segment involves an average of 25 countries directly. The extraction and procurement of raw materials remain global and are subject to many influences.
The Alliance believes that close cooperation among the EU and partner countries is essential to maintaining its edge in the semiconductor market. One goal set by the Brussels agreement is to foster collaboration among scientists, researchers and engineers from clusters across relevant nations.