Il European Committee of the Regions (Cdr)in collaboration with the Free State of Saxonygave birth toAlliance of European Regions for Semiconductors (European Semiconductor Regions Alliance – Esra): a chip manufacturing alliance.
This political initiative brings together 27 regions of 12 Member States of the European Unionincluding Italy with the Piedmont who holds the vice presidency. Esra’s main goal is to strengthenand Europe’s ability to produce semiconductors and microelectronicsreducing its dependence on external supplies, particularly from third countries.
The European Regions united for the future of chips in Europe
This ambitious project fits into the context of “European Chips Act”, a series of measures proposed by the European Commission on 8 February 2022 to strengthen the European Union’s semiconductor ecosystem. The Commission aims to increase Europe’s market share in global chip production from 10% today to 20% by 2030.
The Alliance of European Regions for Semiconductors aims to overcome the obstacles that limit the strategic development of the semiconductor industry in Europe. This will happen througho the optimization of the legal framework, the promotion of both public and private investments, supporting knowledge sharing and creating robust and resilient value chains.
The document signed jointly by the regions lists ten key pointsincluding a call for long-term financing within the European Union’s multiannual financial framework to stimulate European semiconductor production.
As the Corriere delle Comunicazioni explains, the Alliance invites the European Commission to interpret the “uniqueness” criterion broadly to ensure maximum flexibility in the development and approval of state aid to the semiconductor industry. Furthermore, it highlights the need to ensure aadequate supply of water and energy at production sites, as well as the availability of strategic and critical raw materials.
Piedmont, with a robust microchip production chainsees this initiative as an opportunity to attract resources from European projects, also thanks to Chips Act funds. Furthermore, the collaboration between Germany, France and Italy could unlock financial support for an Intel factory on the Peninsulahelping to strengthen the European semiconductor supply chain.
Source
Courier Communications