A Chips Act for the EU

EESC Opinion on the Official Journal of the EU, OJ C 365, 23.9.2022, p. 23.

Key Points

The EESC:

• welcomes the European Commission's objective of strengthening the semiconductor ecosystem, significantly increasing resilience and security of supply and reducing external dependencies.
• recommends a comprehensive approach, primarily based on an innovative semiconductor ecosystem: the specific requirements for microelectronics will become increasingly differentiated in the future and an ever-wider variety of chip solutions will also be needed that are disruptive and innovative, regardless of their size.
• calls on the Commission to flesh out its investment plans, especially with regard to how the investments will be financed: to alleviate the semiconductor shortage in the long term, access to raw materials, R&D facilities, intellectual property and technological know-how and the availability of skilled labour are important. This requires private investment and significant support from the public sector.
• is convinced that the European semiconductor ecosystem should be strengthened with a view to achieving open strategic autonomy. The semiconductor value chain is one of the most globalised. Technology segments that are particularly vulnerable, i.e. due to geopolitical concerns or due to their strategic relevance, should receive the required support.

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