The EU reaches agreement to increase the block’s semiconductor production

He European Parliament and the countries of the European Union (EU) reached an agreement on Tuesday to strengthen the production and supply of semiconductors in the bloc by 2030, in an effort to reduce its dependence on Asian suppliers.

The Swedish delegation, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, announced that the law that would result from that agreement “will boost the European semiconductor ecosystem and play a central role in strengthening the EU’s competitiveness at a global level.” .

The European Commissioner for Industry, Thierry Bretonthe project “will allow us to rebalance our supply chains, and reduce our collective dependence on Asia.”

Since the pandemic of coronaviruswhich completely messed up the supply chains, the EU made expanding the production of semiconductors a priority, since the bloc is highly dependent on these products produced in China and Taiwan.

The agreement reached this Tuesday between MEPs and representatives of national governments aims to double production by 2030, and reach 20%, and also mobilize investments of up to 43,000 million euros (about 47,000 million dollars) in the sector.

However, the EU would need to quadruple its current production capacity to fully meet its needs.

In August, the United States passed a specific law that includes about $52 billion to promote the production of microprocessors and tens of billions of dollars more for scientific research and development.

For their part, Japan and South Korea have promised to spend billions of dollars on the development of semiconductor production.

The EU aims to protect the bloc’s competitiveness from threats from China and the United States, which have invested billions in green technologies.

Last month, the European Commission (the executive arm of the EU) published two proposals to boost the production of clean technology, including critical raw materials needed for electrical products.

For Breton, “Europe’s goal is to become an industrial power in the markets of the future.”

“Digital and clean technologies that will allow us to remain a competitive export force, generate quality jobs and guarantee the security of our supply (…) There will be no ecological or digital transition without a solid manufacturing base,” he said.