Tens of billions of euros are to be invested in chip production in the European Union to counter the shortage of components that are integral not only in the automotive industry.
“I don’t want to tell you today exactly what the volume of investment will be, but it will be proportional to what the United States wants to invest (in chip production),” Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for internal trade, told reporters over the weekend. If European Union member states were to keep pace with the United States, it would mean an investment of at least $50 billion in chip-making capacity.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen predicted last September that a plan was emerging to attract investment over the next 20 to 30 years. “We will do anything to attract strategic investment. We will set conditions that have never been set before so that we can keep up with technological progress,” Breton said.
The European Union should become a net exporter of chips, similar to vaccines, according to the internal market commissioner. The EU’s share of chip production should double to a target of 20 percent.
