27 January, Brussels
At a turning point for Europe’s technological and industrial competitiveness, the GLOBSEC GeoTech Center convened policymakers, industry leaders, and experts to reflect on the future of Europe’s semiconductor strategy in the context of the EU Chips Act and its upcoming review. The discussion explored how Europe can translate the ambitions of the Chips Act into a resilient and strategically grounded semiconductor ecosystem over the next decade.
Participants acknowledged that the EU Chips Act has played a critical role in mobilizing political attention, public investment, and industrial initiatives aimed at strengthening Europe’s position in the global semiconductor value chain. However, the conversation highlighted that the next phase of Europe’s semiconductor policy must move beyond the initial focus on expanding manufacturing capacity. Instead, it should address the deeper strategic question of how Europe can ensure reliable and secure access to chips in times of geopolitical or economic disruption.
Experts noted that Europe faces several structural constraints, including relatively smaller domestic demand for the most advanced chips, higher production costs, and the risks associated with relying heavily on a limited number of large foreign-led semiconductor projects. As a result, the debate is increasingly shifting from the question of “how many fabs Europe can build” toward identifying which capabilities Europe can realistically sustain and rely on in a crisis.
Participants emphasized that Europe already holds significant strengths in several segments of the semiconductor ecosystem, including manufacturing equipment, advanced packaging, system integration, and specialized production serving strategic sectors such as automotive, energy infrastructure, industrial systems, and defense. Ensuring trusted supply for these sectors—many of which depend heavily on mature-node semiconductors—was widely identified as a key priority for the next phase of European semiconductor policy.
The discussion also highlighted that the long-term success of the Chips Act will depend on stronger demand signals, faster governance and permitting processes, and closer alignment with broader European technology and competitiveness policies, including initiatives in AI, cloud infrastructure, and energy systems. In addition, participants stressed the importance of maintaining strong international partnerships, particularly with transatlantic allies and other trusted technology partners, to strengthen global semiconductor supply chain resilience.
Overall, participants agreed that Europe’s semiconductor strategy should not be judged solely by the scale of investment or the number of factories built. Rather, its success will depend on whether it can deliver reliable, sustainable, and strategically relevant capabilities within the global semiconductor ecosystem.
