News
Silicon Europe: Position Paper on the European Chips Act
Since 2012, Silicon Europe supports the strengthening of the European electronics sector
On 08-02-2022, the European Commission unveiled EU Chips Act, a package of proposals, initiatives, and regulations for the semiconductor industry across the member states. As President von der Leyen pointed out when she announced the ambition to craft a European “chips” strategy, “There is no digital without chips. … We need to radically raise Europe's game on the development, production, and use of this key technology.”
The Silicon Europe Alliance strongly supports this initiative. It is vital that Europe supports its semiconductor industry and strengthens its resilience. The entire value chain, from chip design and manufacture to end-users must be fostered within Europe. As an alliance that represents clusters whose focus is Europe’s active small and medium enterprise (SME) community, Silicon Europe hopes to see further development of mechanisms, strategies, and (reworked) regulations specifically helpful to these companies. Connecting these energetic and agile businesses – an integral part of the European economy – with the semiconductor business value chain at the ground level is indispensable.
Equally, we find it vital to any European chips actions to create durable and healthy relationships between manufacturers and end-users along the whole value chain, including pre-production as well as packaging, assembling and applications. Regarding the strengths in the European industry in the automotive sector, the aerospace sector and many others, this holistic value chain approach will be crucial for the success in the semiconductor sector.
Cultivating strong ties between those who manufacture chips and those who use them is the only way to ensure a more efficient semiconductor industry in Europe.
This Silicon Europe position paper is mainly concerned on deepening and intensifying the role of the small and medium sized businesses in the realisation of the goals brought forward in the chips act. Nevertheless, the larger industries will also benefit from the recommendations in the position paper.
Go on reading and learn about Silicon Europe’s recommendations about:
- Workforce Mobilisation & Education
- Small agile production and test facilities
- SMEs and EU-funding