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Competitiveness & Innovation

The semiconductor industry is one of the most innovative industrial sectors in Europe. Semiconductors provide the key enabling technology for thousands of products we use every day, such as computers, mobile phones, medical devices, cars, but also wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, or heat pumps. They truly play an indispensable role in a wide assortment of innovative technologies and industries. The rapid growth in the capacity, increased functionality and speed of semiconductors has enabled tremendous innovations and improvements across all sectors of the economy.

To quote European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton: “Without chips, no digital transition, no green transition, no technological leadership.[1] Semiconductor drive innovations and enable sustainable, smart, and inclusive growth across the European Union, and will continue to make an essential contribution to the development of products to face major societal challenges such as increased energy efficiency, ageing society and mobility. The lack of global level playing field vis-à-vis other dominant regions of semiconductor production and the EU framework conditions in relation to investment and funding incentives play an important role in Europe's attractiveness for the semiconductor industry.

Chair

Christian Wiebus - NXP Semiconductors


January 2024: ESIA Position on the EU Talent Pool” Proposal

October 2023: Joint Industry Statement entitled The Revision of the Directive on Liability for Defective Products should strike a fair balance to support innovation

October 2023: ESIA Position on the Net-Zero Industry Act

September 2023: ESIA Position on the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP): European Commission proposal

September 2023: ESIA Position on the Cyber Resilience Act” implementation in the semiconductor industry

July 2023: ESIA Position on the necessity to add certain raw materials to Annex I and II of the “Critical Raw Materials Act

June 2023: ESIA Position on the Critical Raw Materials Act

June 2023: ESIA Comments on the ITRE Draft Report to the “Net-Zero Industry Act

June 2023: ESIA welcomes the approval of the second IPCEI on Microelectronics

May 2023: Joint Statement on Access to data by public bodies: a double-edge tool to use with caution and restraint

May 2023: ESIA Feedback on the Net-Zero Industry Act

February 2023: Joint Industry Statement: The Data Act is a leap into the unknown

October 2022: ESIA Position on the Data Act

October 2022: ESIA Guidance on Pillar 3 of the “EU Chips Act” – Emergency Toolbox the European Semiconductor Board

May 2022: ESIA Feedback to the call for evidence on the Single Market Emergency Instrument (SMEI)

May 2022: ESIA Feedback to the public consultation on the European Chips Act package

May 2022: ESIA / SIA Joint Position on Guiding Principles for EU-U.S. Semiconductor Standardisation Cooperation

April 2022: Joint Industry Statement: Digital and semiconductor sectors urge EU leaders to swiftly adopt the EU Chips Act

March 2022: ESIA Position Paper on A Chips Act for the European Union

February 2022: Commission Communication: A Chips Act for Europe

February 2022: Proposal for a Regulation establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe's semiconductor ecosystem (Chips Act)

October 2021: ESIA Position on EU / U.S. cooperation on semiconductor standardisation

January 2021: Global Semiconductor Industry Calls on Nations to Prioritize Essential Supply Chain Operations For Vaccine Distribution

December 2020: Joint Declaration of EU Member States: A European Initiative on Processors and semiconductor technologies

September 2020: U.S. House of Representatives’ China Task Force Report

September 2020: ITIF Report on An Allied Approach to Semiconductor Leadership

September 2020: SIA Study on Government Incentives and US Competitiveness in Semiconductor Manufacturing

July 2020: ESIA Position Paper on the Union Rolling Work Programme for European Cybersecurity Certification

March 2020: Global Semiconductor Industry Calls on Nations to Prioritize Essential Supply Chain Operations During COVID-19

February 2020: ESIA Position Paper on the upcoming EU Industry Strategy

December 2019: OECD Trade Policy Paper on Measuring distortions in international markets: The semiconductor value chain

November 2019: Commission Report on Strengthening Strategic Value Chains for a future-ready EU industry (+ detailed recommendations)

April 2019: Independent High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence: Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI

December 2018: Commission Press Release on State aid: Commission approves plan by France, Germany, Italy and the UK to give €1.75 billion public support to joint research and innovation project in microelectronics

June 2018: Boosting Electronics Value Chains in Europe

April 2018: The ‘Rüttgers Report’: Re-finding Industry – Defining Innovation

October 2017: GEAR 2030 Final Report

July 2017: The ‘Lamy Report’: LAB – FAB – APP: Investing in the European future we want

February 2017: Industry in Europe – Facts & figures on competitiveness & innovation 2017

August 2016: Digitising the Industry: Internet of Things Connecting the Physical, Digital and Virtual Worlds

April 2016: ESIA Position Paper: The Semiconductor Industry in Europe - A Key Enabler for Trusted IoT Solutions

January 2016: European Cybersecurity Industry Leaders – Recommendations on Cybersecurity for Europe

December 2015: Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) Observatory – Second Report

June 2015: KETs: Time to Act. High-Level Expert Group on Key Enabling Technologies – Final Report

June 2015: Building the Hyperconnected Society: IoT Research and Innovation Value Chains, Ecosystems and Markets

May 2015: Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) Observatory – First Annual Report

January 2015: CATRENE Scientific Committee: Semiconductor Technologies for Smart Cities

September 2014: GSA / Oxford Economics Report on Enabling the Hyperconnected Age – The role of semiconductors

July 2014: Electronic Leaders Group (ELG): A European Industrial Strategic Roadmap for Micro- and Nano-Electronic Component and Systems – Implementation Plan

March 2014: High-Level Expert Group on Key Enabling Technologies: KETs for a competitive Europe

February 2014: Electronic Leaders Group (ELG): A European Industrial Strategic Roadmap for Micro- and Nano-Electronic Components and Systems

December 2013: Commission Study on the Competitiveness of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Industry – Final Report

December 2013: Electronic Leaders Group (ELG) state of play: Select industry group updates the roadmap on making Europe big in electronics

November 2013: Center for Data Innovation: the internet of things

August 2013: Commission Study on Strategies for innovative and effective ICT Components and Systems Manufacturing in Europe

August 2013: Commission Study on a Comparison of European and non-European regional clusters in KETs – the case of semiconductors

July 2013: High-Level Expert Group on Key Enabling Technologies – Status Implementation Report

May 2013: Commission Communication: A European Strategy for Micro- and Nano-Electronic Components and Systems

November 2011: ESIA Position on Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) for Europe

June 2011: High-level Expert Group on Key Enabling Technologies – Final Report

April 2011: ESIA Response to the Commission Green Paper From Challenges to Opportunities: Towards a Common Strategic Framework for EU Research and Innovation funding

April 2011: ESIA Position Paper on European Funding for Cross-Border Cooperation

February 2011: ESIA Press Release on R&D Intensity Scoreboard Results

November 2008: ESIA 2008 Competitiveness Report: Mastering Innovation – Shaping the Future (+ executive summary)

November 2008: IBM Smarter Planet


[1] European Commission (08/02/2022). Digital sovereignty: Commission proposes Chips Act to confront semiconductor shortages and strengthen Europe's technological leadership, Press corner. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_729