While European research has been vital for advanced chip manufacturing, it is not enough to make the bloc industry leaders, the EU Commissioner said. Credit: Thinkstock Europe must manufacture its own cutting-edge chips or risk being left to build old-style chips, said EU Commissioner Thierry Breton during a keynote speech to semiconductor companies this week. Europe must refuse “any attempt of geographical segmentation where Europe would produce mature nodes, while Asia and the US would produce advanced nodes,” Breton said while speaking at the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre’s annual event in Antwerp. He added that Europe “cannot and will not” be considered an observer when it comes to chip manufacturing, saying “I want a Europe that knows how to lead in semiconductors.” Breton highlighted how important European research and technology has been to the advanced chips manufactured today but acknowledged that “excellent research” is not enough. “To be industrially relevant, one needs to build factories and produce in Europe,” Breton said, noting that as a result of the European Union’s recently approved Chips Act has led to new projects planned by Intel, Infineon, STMicroelectronics, and Global Foundries. “With the Chips Act now agreed, we are sending a strong signal to all of you, in Europe and outside, that Europe is open for business,” Breton said. In April, the European Council and the European Parliament reached an agreement on a deal to invest $3.6 billion in EU funds to build out the continent’s semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, with the aim of attracting a further $43.7 billion in private investment. Chip trade war continues to heat up The European Union’s Chips Act is seen as a response to similar plans to encourage semiconductor manufacturing in the US, China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. However, the plan still represents less support than is offered by both the US and Chinese governments and Breton’s comments come at a time when geopolitical turmoil continues to disrupt the global chip market, causing companies to look for ways to bolster the security and continuity of the semiconductor supply chain. The presidential administrations of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump, citing trade and security concerns, passed measures barring the use of Chinese-made hardware in US networks and imposed export controls on US computing technology — most recently, restrictions on chips and chip-making equipment. The US has also put pressure on its allies to enact similar restrictions. Related content feature Windows 11: A guide to the updates Here’s what you need to know about the latest updates to Windows 11 as they’re released from Microsoft. Now updated for KB506980 Preview, released on April 23, 2024. By Preston Gralla Apr 25, 2024 59 mins Small and Medium Business Windows 11 Windows feature Windows 10: A guide to the updates Here's what you need to know about each update to the current version of Windows 10 as it's released from Microsoft. Now updated for KB5036979 Preview, released on April 23, 2024. By Preston Gralla Apr 25, 2024 172 mins Small and Medium Business Windows 10 Microsoft opinion The end of non-compete agreements is a tech job earthquake The FTC ruled this week that companies can no longer use non-compete agreements to stop workers from moving from one job to another — and businesses are having fits. By Steven Vaughan-Nichols Apr 25, 2024 5 mins Regulation Government IT Jobs news Meta opens its mixed-reality Horizon OS to other headset makers Lenovo and Asus are among the companies building headsets that run Horizon software. The move expands Meta’s reach in the AR/VR market, while enabling headset vendors to focus on hardware development rather than software. By Matthew Finnegan Apr 24, 2024 6 mins Augmented Reality Google Virtual Reality Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe