Chips Act 2

Key points

The EESC:

• welcomes the Commission’s Chips Act 2 proposal as a timely evolution of the original Chips Act, recognising semiconductors as a strategic asset for Europe’s competitiveness, technological sovereignty, economic security and industrial resilience;
• believes that Europe should build a uniquely European semiconductor ecosystem across the full value chain, combining research, manufacturing, design, equipment, skills, sustainability and industrial cooperation rather than trying to replicate Asia or the United States;
• considers that the Regulation should be guided by industrial competitiveness and strategic autonomy, with public support designed to leverage private investment and backed by faster permitting, simplification, affordable energy and a genuinely harmonised single market;
• calls for particular attention to SMEs, start-ups, scale-ups and fabless companies, ensuring effective access to funding, pilot lines and design tools within the new framework;
• stresses that stronger semiconductor capacity must be accompanied by quality jobs, skills development, proportionate and temporary crisis measures, high standards on energy and resource use, and clear governance with meaningful stakeholder involvement, transparency and accountability.