BRUSSELS, Belgium — January 25, 2024 — SEMI, the industry association serving the global electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, today applauded the European Commission’s announcement of the European Economic Security Strategy as a positive and fundamental step forward in assuring Europe’s economic security.
The European Commission designed the European Economic Security Strategy to protect the European Union’s economic security and reinforce the resilience of its economy by investing in the region’s competitiveness, diversifying its supply chains, and minimizing the risks of economic interdependencies.
The strategy was initially announced in June 2023 in response to the pandemic and the rise in geopolitical tensions after they revealed vulnerabilities in the economies of its 27 member states. It seeks to identify and assess the risks to the EU’s economic security and develop new tools for their mitigation, with a strong focus on advanced semiconductors as a critical technology area identified by the European Commission.
“The semiconductor industry depends on a high level of cross-border investments and international cooperation as its supply chain is extremely specialized and fragmented with thousands of industrial players globally,” said Laith Altimime, President of SEMI Europe. “The European Economic Security Strategy should provide a path to economic security with government incentives and other support that place equal emphasis on its three guiding principles of Protection, Promotion and Partnership.”
The initiatives proposed today by the European Commission are the following:
- Proposal for a new regulation on the screening of foreign direct investments (FDI)
- White paper on export controls
- White paper on outbound investment
- Proposal for a European Council recommendation on research security
- White paper for enhancing support for research and development involving technologies with dual-use potential
SEMI Europe will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to contribute to the political debate and encourage a legislative framework that can enhance economic security across industrial supply chains while preserving Europe’s technological competitive advantage. SEMI will share an in-depth perspective in the position paper SEMI Europe Priorities on the European Economic Security Strategy scheduled to be published by mid-February 2024.
Visit SEMI Global Advocacy to learn more about public policy efforts and developments, and SEMI Workforce Development for more information on efforts to address the microelectronics industry’s talent needs.
SEMI Europe Advocacy
Discover how SEMI Europe Advocacy & Public Policy supports the microelectronics industry across trade, taxes, talent, and R&D or become involved by contacting euadvocacy@semi.org.
About SEMI
SEMI® is the global industry association connecting over 3,000 member companies and 1.5 million professionals worldwide across the semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain. We accelerate member collaboration on solutions to top industry challenges through Advocacy, Workforce Development, Sustainability, Supply Chain Management and other programs. Our SEMICON® expositions and events, technology communities, standards and market intelligence help advance our members’ business growth and innovations in design, devices, equipment, materials, services and software, enabling smarter, faster, more secure electronics. Visit www.semi.org, contact a regional office, and connect with SEMI on LinkedIn and X to learn more.
Association Contacts
Serena Brischetto/SEMI Europe
Phone: +49 30 3030 8077-11
Email: sbrischetto@semi.org
Michael Hall/SEMI US
Phone: 1.408.943.7988
Email: mhall@semi.org