Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, has proposed new legislation to strengthen the semiconductors supply chain in the European Union. In her annual 'State of the Union' address, she said the Commission will present a new 'European Chips Act' to help coordinate national efforts among EU states and build up research and production in the region.
The disruptions to global supply chains caused by the coronavirus crisis have exposed Europe's dependence on Asian suppliers for many types of semiconductor. Last year already the EU states agreed to form an alliance focused on strengthening the local chip industry. In addition to boosting local production, the aim is to take the lead in the next generation of semiconductors needed for key applications, such as 5G networks, autonomous vehicles and advanced data processing.
Von der Leyen acknowledged that it will be a "daunting task". However, she cited the EU's success in building its own satellite navigation system under the Galileo project, which already runs on over 2 billion smartphones around the world.
The legislation will provide a platform for bringing together national R&D, design and testing capacities to work together on major projects. It's also expected to create a more favourable climate for setting up new chip production in the EU, bringing together national and EU support measures. Chipmakers such as Intel and TSMC have already been looking at starting new fabs in the region.
