After four rounds of negotiations, Parliament and the Council have found a compromise on a Community regulation, better known by the English name of Chips Act, which must serve to give the European Union its own high-tech industry, particularly in the increasingly crucial of microprocessors.
The objective of the measure is to double the European share in the production of semiconductors worldwide from 10 to 20%.
The comments of many EU representatives were positive, in particular, the commissioner for the internal market, Thierry Breton, who presented the proposal in February 2022. He explained the latter yesterday: in a very uncertain geopolitical context, “Europe is taking its destiny into its own hands”. He then added: «There will be no green or digital transition without an important manufacturing base. In fact, it is a question of reducing our dependence on Asia”.
The initiative presented at the time by the EU executive envisages three strands: support for the development of large-scale technological capabilities; a framework for attracting new investment; and a monitoring system to anticipate supply shortages in the event of a crisis. The most interesting aspect was certainly the first because it establishes public aid to promote production and research.
The compromise, which must now be definitively approved by the two co-legislators, extends the scope of application of innovative plants (first-of-a-kind, in English), also including those that produce not only microprocessors, but also used in semiconductor manufacturing. First-of-a-kind installations contribute to the security of supply of the internal market and can benefit from accelerated procedures for granting permits, explained the European Parliament yesterday.