A resounding success for the Semicon Coalition: all 27 EU member states signed its declaration supporting a revision of the Chips Act (the European regulation on semiconductors).
The coalition was formed in March 2025 at the initiative of the Netherlands. Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Finland, France, Italy and Poland joined. The objective, broadly speaking: to help strengthen Europe’s position in the semiconductor industry… and to commit to actions that would be realized in the declaration itself. In the background looms an imminent Brussels evaluation of the Chips Act.
Since then, the European Court of Auditors has delivered its own assessment… not very flattering. It fears the Chips Act could suffer the same fate as the strategy it superseded, due to weaknesses in its design, its implementation, and its monitoring*.
Considering a training program to complement the competence centers
The declaration – signed by France through Marc Ferracci, its minister for Industry and Energy – reiterates the Chips Act’s broad promises, tempered by the conclusions of the Draghi report and those of the European Court of Auditors. It stresses, among other things, the need to link objectives to measurable indicators that will be revised periodically. It also stresses the opportunity to align them with initiatives targeting end markets (defense, automotive, and telecoms are cited).
Beyond backing collaborations between industry and both private and public research, the Semicon Coalition calls for backing “European champions” across the entire supply chain. It also advocates establishing fast-track procedures to facilitate access to infrastructures and energy resources. This could entail systematizing the PIEEC mechanism (Important Projects of Common European Interest).
The declaration also suggests, in line with the semiconductor competence centers (27 selected across 24 member states and Norway; €116 million in budget), the creation of a program “European Chips Skills.”
From Arm to STMicro, industry is also pushing for a revision of the Chips Act
Seventy-five organizations, including Arm, ASML, Bosch, Dassault Systèmes, GlobalFoundries, NXP, OVHcloud, Qualcomm and STMicro, have signaled their support for the declaration.
On the European Commission’s side, a public consultation has been launched as part of the Chips Act evaluation process. It runs until 28 November 2025. About a dozen contributions have been registered so far, including Almae Technologies. This spin-off from a joint lab between Nokia, Thales and the CEA-Leti designs and manufactures laser sources and photonic circuits.
* The Chips Act’s main objective is that by 2030, the EU accounts for 20% of the world’s microprocessor production in value. Yet, it would be more realistic to aim for an 11.7% share by that date, according to the European Court of Auditors.
