European Semiconductor Industry Association (ESIA)

Research & development underpin everything the #semiconductor does 💡🌐 Chips are one of the world’s most research and capital-intensive technologies. The EU is advancing complex and strategic projects in semiconductor technologies with the existing Important Projects of Common European Interest (#IPCEI) ‘Microelectronics’ and ‘Microelectronics and Communication Technologies’. Bulgaria’s nomination for the European Commission is former Deputy Prime Minister and current member of the Bulgarian National Assembly 🇧🇬 is Ekaterina Zaharieva (Екатерина Захариева) for the portfolio on “Start-ups, Research and Innovation” 🤖✨ As she will be heard by Members of the European Parliament from the Committees on Industry, Research and Energy (#ITRE) 🏭🔍 and on Culture and Education (#CULT) 🏛️🎓, ESIA reiterates the criticality of the IPCEI instrument s in today’s highly competitive environment. Future IPCEIs, however, must be simpler to access, faster to process, and implemented more swiftly. An approval process which takes multiple years is not a best practice and should be avoided 🔜🆗

The #semiconductor industry is truly global, relying on a complex international supply chain with a manufacturing process including several hundred steps to design, manufacture, assemble, test, and eventually deliver chips to the customers 🔲🌎 As European Commission Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, again nominated by Slovakia 🇸🇰 for another term, is heading into his hearing before the European Parliament, ESIA wants to emphasise that the semiconductor industry requires a high degree of openness along the supply chain ✈️🏗️🚛 Chip manufacturers need to be able to scale, meaning serving global markets, to be competitive. A valid business case often starts with sales of high-quality parts in the 500 million units’ range. The European market alone will not be able to provide such scale 🇪🇺➡️🗺️ ESIA hopes to see a strong European strategy on open trade, which balances the need of the sector to access global markets, the necessity to protect, and the need for international partnerships.

Starting on Monday, 4 November 2024, the European Parliament is going to hold its hearings to vet the Commissioners-designate for the next European Commission. After evaluating the interviews and deliberating on the performances, the hearings process may conclude by 21 November 2024. Here’s a little overview 📅 Monday, 4 November at 14:30: Maroš Šefčovič 🇸🇰 for “Trade & Economic Security / Interinstitutional Relations & Transparency” 🤝🔄 Tuesday, 5 November at 09:00: Ekaterina Zaharieva 🇧🇬 for “Startups, Research & Innovation” 🔭🧬 Thursday, 7 November at 09:00: Wopke Hoekstra 🇳🇱 for “Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth” 🍃🌍 Thursday, 7 November at 14:30: Valdis Dombrovskis 🇱🇻 for “Economy and Productivity / Implementation and Simplification” 📈🎯 Tuesday, 12 November at 14:30: Roxana Minzatu 🇷🇴 for “People, Skills and Preparedness” 👨👨👧👧🛠️, and Stéphane Séjourné 🇫🇷 for “Prosperity and Industrial Strategy” 🏭🍀 Tuesday, 12 November at 18:30: Teresa Ribeira 🇪🇸 for “Clean, Just and Competitive Transition” ⚖️🚀, and Henna Virkkunen 🇫🇮 for “Tech-Sovereignty, Security & Democracy” 🌐🛡️   For a little inspiration on both questions and answers 😉👇🏻

#Semiconductors are the foundation of devices and systems that power today’s society 🏙️👨👨👧👧🤝 Although often invisible, they are essential to our everyday lives and a sustainable future. The manufacturing sector behind those crucial chips is believed to be one of the most complex industries out there. To provide an easily accessible overview, ESIA has created handy brochure to help navigate information about the globe-spanning ecosystem 🌍, its massive supply chain 💱📈, and hundreds of process steps 💯⚛️ Check out “Semiconductors: Strategic enabler of everyday life” below 🦾⬇️

On the last day of the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, France, MEPs are holding a discussion on “Closing the EU skills gap – Insights from the Draghi report”. As the Parliament’s new legislative cycle has energised the debate on the EU approach to tackling skills gaps, ESIA would like to emphasise the lack of capacity and capability in specific semiconductor education, with only a few focused training centres that offer relevant study programmes 🏫🎓📚 As a result, talents undertake research & training outside the EU 🚪🏃♀️👋 We call on Members of the European Parliament, as well as decisionmakers at the Council of the European Union and the European Commission to strengthen the cooperation between Member States and industry to develop a holistic European semiconductor talent curriculum. This should be injected into schools and EU projects under Erasmus Plus and the Digital Europe Programme. Learn more here ⬇️

Research & development is the lifeblood of the semiconductor industry worldwide 🔎🔬🩸 The European Research Area (ERA) is a unified R&D&I area, open to the world, which enables free circulation of researchers, scientific knowledge, and technology. Tomorrow and Friday, the European Research Area & Innovation Committee (#ERAC) is meeting to advise the Council of the European Union (#COMPET in particular), the European Commission, as well as 🇪🇺 Member States in ERA priority areas. ESIA urges EU institutions to shift gears and allow for faster and more flexible approaches to enable its semiconductor industry to position itself at the top 👨🏻🔬👩🏼🔬

From 14-18 October 2024, the European Semiconductor Industry Association has gathered representatives from across the globe for the Government & Authorities Meeting on Semiconductors (GAMS) 2024 at the Hotel Bristol Berlin, Germany. This annual meeting, unique in its form, is a forum for government & authorities officials to meet & discuss, to respond to common challenges facing the semiconductor industry, and to address the recommendations from the World Semiconductor Council (WSC). Representatives from industry were able to present their sector directly, to discuss the future of #semiconductor innovation 🔲💫, supply chain resilience 💱🛡️, and international collaboration in this critical industry 🤝🗺️ We thank our participants from China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea, and the United States for such a successful edition!

The impact of climate change, geopolitics and new technological developments are reshaping the semiconductor industry. At the 25th Government and Authorities Meeting on Semiconductors (GAMS) in Berlin today, delegates from all major world semiconductor regions came together to address these evolving trends. The GAMS meeting series is a unique format for industry-government #collaboration. We share our insights, forge stronger bonds, and collectively shape the future of our industry. Our solutions play a critical role in driving #decarbonization and #digitalization. Semiconductors underpin the electronics, power systems and infrastructures necessary for a sustainable future. Together, we can shape these trends and drive progress and innovation globally. An ambitious agreement on voluntary PFC emissions reduction and efforts to enhance water utilization efficiency are high on our GAMS agenda. We also addressed other important topics of mutual interest, such as global customs rules, fair market access, regional investments and talent attraction.   Thank you to the team of European Semiconductor Industry Association (ESIA) for hosting the event and to all delegates participating in GAMS. The strength of our collaboration will determine our success in addressing our industry’s challenges and seizing the opportunities ahead.

Today and tomorrow, Heads of State and Government of the 27 EU Member States are gathering in Brussels, Belgium, for the European Council (#EUCO) Summit 🇪🇺 On the agenda: taking stock of the progress on a new competitiveness deal 🌟🏆🥇, which had been agreed on during the Special Council in April 2024. In order to build on the momentum for the sector, ESIA is urging EU leaders to launch the process for a ‘Chips Act 2.0’, to improve initiatives, reconsider its scope, and assess gaps of its predecessor legislation. Furthermore, ESIA calls for a European smart policy approach with a competitiveness check at its core ⚔️✅ Policies across all areas – environment, technology, trade, energy, manufacturing, finance, skills, and talent growth – need to be balanced, consistent and follow a pro-business approach. Conflicting policies and extensive administrative requirements block the European semiconductor industry’s ability to compete globally and thrive and, consequently, contribute to the overarching EU goal of supply chain resilience.

Today and tomorrow, European Employment and Social Policy Ministers are meeting at the informal #EPSCO Council in Budapest, Hungary. They will “reflect on labour shortages, more effective involvement of labour market reserves, and issues of social inclusion”. This is of particular concern for the European semiconductor industry. Experts predict that – if nothing is done to mitigate the situation – there will be a shortfall of up to 350.000 employees in the broader European semiconductor ecosystem by 2030🚨 📢⚠️ The lack of a skilled workforce must be understood as one of the most severe risks to the sector’s ability to stay ahead of competition. A scenario based on the status quo will lead to serious gaps in the operation of manufacturing sites and, equally importantly, in the design of semiconductor innovations. To effectively tackle the issue, more efforts are needed. ESIA therefore urges the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, and the European Parliament to join forces an EU-wide education strategy to attract talents to STEM subjects.