FILE PHOTO: EU flags flutter in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
February 8, 2022
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission on Tuesday set out a billion-euro plan to boost its chip industry, including making it easier for EU governments to provide funding for first-of-a-kind factories, as the bloc tries to cut its dependence on U.S. and Asian companies.
The move by the EU executive mirrors the $52 billion U.S. Chips Act aimed at increasing its competitiveness with China and comes as a global chip shortage and supply chain bottlenecks create havoc for car makers, healthcare providers, telecoms operators and others.
The European Chips Act will “enable 15 billion euros ($17 billion) in additional public and private investment by 2030”, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement to the media.
“This will come on top of 30 billion euros of public investments already planned from NextGenerationEU, Horizon Europe and national budgets,” she said, referring to ongoing EU projects.
($1 = 0.8763 euros)
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold, writing by Foo Yun Chee)
