EU microchip strategy ‘deeply disconnected from reality’, say official auditors
GuardianMAY 1
EU Microchip Strategy ‘Deeply Disconnected From Reality,’ say Official Auditors
Above: At the Globalfoundries Inc. semiconductor fabrication plant in Dresden, Germany, on Nov. 30, 2022, technicians carry out production control duties in a cleanroom. Image copyright: Liesa Johannssen/Contributor/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Spin
Cynical narrative
The European Union is falling behind in the global competition to produce microchips, at a time when it cannot afford the strategic uncertainty associated with reliance on foreign supply chains. Currently, the EU is significantly behind the pace required to capture 20% of the world's market share, with the European Commission investing insufficiently in the Chips Act, as competitors continue to outspend the EU in the semiconductor race.
Pro-Europe narrative
Though this report isn't positive, it gives the EU the necessary cause to act quickly and decisively in the interests of its future. Though short of its 20% target share, this was always an ambitious goal, and predictions from industry experts say that the share of semiconductor production (from which microchips are made) will only begin to spread out after 2030. Europe can and must take the time and resources to effectively lay the groundwork for bolstering chip production over the next five years, in order to insulate itself against geopolitical instability.