The EU desires to extend the manufacturing of semiconductors, as Covid results in bottlenecks

Executive Vice President of the European Commission for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager.

YVES HERMAN | AFP | Getty Images

LONDON – The European Union plans to be less reliant on technologies traditionally manufactured off-bloom, such as ramping up chip manufacturing.

Semiconductors are used in almost all electronic devices, from laptops and cell phones to brake sensors in our cars. However, the EU accounts for less than 10% of global production of these chips.

With global semiconductor shortages and tensions between China and the US, the bloc believes it is time to improve its digital sovereignty.

“We aim for the production of ultra-modern and sustainable semiconductors in Europe, including processors, to account for at least 20% of global value production by 2030,” said the European Commission on Tuesday in a document to the legislature.

This is especially important for the EU at a time when many manufacturers face delays and additional costs as they struggle to get enough semiconductors to make new cars. The coronavirus pandemic has intensified the demand for digital devices and is reducing the availability of chips.

Digital champions

In addition, European officials want to curb some of the dominance Chinese and American companies enjoy in this area of ​​technology. The largest chip manufacturers are based in either the United States or China.

The largest social media platforms are either American or Chinese. Indeed, the EU has always lagged behind when it comes to hosting digital champions.

“Given the growing tensions between the US and China, Europe will not be just a spectator, let alone a battlefield. It is time to take our fate into our own hands,” said Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market. said last July.

“It also means identifying and investing in the digital technologies that underpin our sovereignty and our industrial future,” he added at the time.

Europe’s recent efforts to claim digital sovereignty are not new. The strategy has been discussed for a number of years as concerns about the security of European citizens’ data increased. However, a new team in Brussels that has been in place since December 2019 has focused on moving member states from talks to action.

As a result, the plans outlined on Tuesday also suggested that “all European households will be covered by one gigabit network, with all populated areas covered by 5G”.

“The pandemic has shown how important digital technologies and skills are for work, study and engagement and where we need to get better. We now have to create the digital decade in Europe,” said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in a statement.