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EU Internal Market Commission Thierry Breton presenting the EU initiative in Brussels
Photo: YVES HERMAN / REUTERS
In order to get Europe out of the chip crisis in the long term, the EU wants to invest 43 billion euros in public funds.
This emerges from the presentation of the »European Chips Act«.
Precautions would be taken "to avoid future shocks for our economy, as we see them with the current supply bottlenecks in chips," said EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton.
The Brussels authority is reacting to the ongoing shortage of microchips in industry.
With the Chips Act, the EU wants to become more independent of Asia when it comes to semiconductors.
Semiconductors are currently largely manufactured in Taiwan, China and South Korea.
The authority of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen aims to more than double the EU's global market share in the production of semiconductors to 20 percent by 2030.
In a market expected to double in size by 2030, that means a fourfold increase in semiconductor production.
Subsidies are intended to attract private investors
For this purpose, the EU Commission provides eleven billion euros in subsidies for research on chips.
These should come from the EU and the Member States.
Another more than 30 billion euros are to come through the approval of state aid for companies in the sector.
This is also intended to encourage the settlement of foreign companies.
The US chip manufacturer Intel had announced that it wanted to invest in Europe.
The European Commission hopes that this public money will lead to even more private investment.
Waiting times for new cars and the Playstation 5
During the pandemic, there were shortages of semiconductors worldwide.
In the automotive industry in particular, companies have had to reduce production or stop it altogether.
Because of their importance for the production of many goods in the technology sector such as cars, smartphones or game consoles, semiconductors are increasingly regarded as a key technology.
The EU has been affected by bottlenecks for almost three years.
jlk/dpa