EU states rally around Dutch chips coalition in bid for Chips Act 2.0

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By Nathan Vifflin

(Reuters) -All of the European Union’s member states have entered a Dutch-led chips coalition that is pushing for revisions to the EU’s Chips Act, the Dutch government said on Monday.

The group, known as the “Semicon Coalition”, was formed in March by the Netherlands together with eight other member states. It handed over the declaration to the European Commission on Monday.

“Today all EU Ministers agreed on the fact that Europe’s industrial strategy should adapt to the increasing geopolitical tensions in the world,” Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Vincent Karremans said in a statement.

European lawmakers, industry groups, and companies are gathering momentum for a “Chips Act 2.0”, pushing to quickly fill the gaps in the continent’s semiconductor strategy.

The coalition argues that the bloc needs to revamp its Chips Act from a headline market‑share goal of 20% to a more targeted drive to secure critical technologies, speed approvals and deepen skills and finance across the semiconductor chain.

The first EU Chips Act prompted a wave of investment, but failed to attract advanced chipmaking after Intel scrapped plans for a large new factory in Germany.

Industry group SEMI said on Monday it signed the declaration along with more than 50 semiconductor companies.

The group also reiterated its bid for the EU to set a separate budget for chips. It said in May the bloc should quadruple semiconductor spending.

Among the companies that signed declaration were Nvidia, ASML, Intel, STMicroelectronics, and Infineon, SEMI said.

In late March, the European Court of Auditors said that the EU’s objective to reach 20% of the world’s chip market output by 2030 was unreachable at the current pace.

Instead, it projected Europe to hold 11.7% of the world’s chip value chain, up from 9.8% in 2022.

(Reporting by Nathan Vifflin in Gdansk; Editing by Matt Scuffham)