European Union Agrees On Chips State Aid Plan

On Tuesday, EU industry chief Thierry Breton announced that the European Union has approved a 43-billion-euro plan to enhance its semiconductor industry in an attempt to compete with the United States and Asia.

Negotiations on the Chips Act between the European Commission, EU countries, and EU lawmakers took place in Strasbourg to finalize the details.

“We reached a deal on the EU Chips Act,” Breton told a news conference.

The Chips Act has a goal of increasing the bloc’s global chip output to 20% by 2030. This follows the United States’ announcement of the CHIPS for America Act, which is aimed at competing with Chinese technology.

Read more: EU Chips Act To Be Approved In One Week

The scope of funding for chip production in the EU has been expanded by governments and lawmakers to include the entire value chain, encompassing older chips and research and design facilities, despite the Commission’s initial proposal to fund only cutting-edge chip plants.

US chipmaker Intel, which will get German subsidies for a plant in Germany, welcomed the deal.

“The EU Chips Act will crowd-in investments to where they are most needed – in manufacturing capabilities, skills, and R&D. The strong and broad political support for these objectives shows that the EU is serious about securing its future prosperity,” Hendrik Bourgeois, VP European Government Affairs at Intel, said.