EU Society: Fifth Meeting (May 9, 2023) > EU Society at KUGSIS

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The members were greeted after the two-week midterm period and the fifth session of the EU society started.

The presentation covered the European chips act. Sybren gave background information of what a microchip is, where it is used and how it works technically. The chip manufacturing nowadays take place mainly in Taiwan and Korea and not in Europe. Also the chip design is dominated by the US and Taiwan and outsourced to other countries. Again, there are no European companies who design chips. Nonetheless, Europe produces and delivers the machines that are needed to produce the chips and has a very dominant position in this field. This shows the importance of supply chains because countries that are far away have to work together in this field. Especially the chip shortage of 2020 showed how vulnerable this supply chain is. This is why the European Union introduced the European chips act in 2022 to increase Europe’s chip production. To achieve this, 5 strategic objectives have to be achieved and are set within the European chips act. Still, this plan is not unique to the EU since other countries also heavily invest in their chips sector to increase their share of chip manufacturing. The EU has tried to implement similar projects before which were nor always successful. Geopolitics and US-China rivalry also contribute to a fiercer competition in this sector and potential issues in the future.

In the following discussion, Sybren addressed several questions. One discussion centered around the willingness of European consumers to pay a higher price for products made in the EU. Lastly, a participant posed a question about the future of semiconductors and whether there is a chance that they will be replaced by a different technology in the future, and what challenges this may pose to the current industry. In conclusion, Sybren's presentation covered the European Chips Act, its importance in securing the future of chip manufacturing in Europe, and the challenges facing the industry.

After the discussion, members of the EU society were invited to have dinner together.