Saxony's Economics Minister Martin Dulig has welcomed the package of laws passed by the EU to promote the European semiconductor industry. "Very good and extremely important for Saxony: the EU Parliament and the Council of Europe have cleared the way for the Chips Act today," the SPD politician wrote on Twitter on Tuesday evening. Europe wants to increase its global market share of 10 percent to at least 20 percent by 2030.
"For Saxony, this means that important investments can flow, for example in the expansion of Infineon," Dulig said. This is good and important for the location, for Germany and Europe, he added. In the fall, the chip company plans to start building a new plant in Dresden. In Dulig's view, the European Chips Act will strengthen and secure Europe's digital resilience and sovereignty.
The Saxon industry network Silicon Saxony also welcomed the agreement. "The EU Chips Act creates investment and planning security for semiconductor companies and their suppliers," said managing director Frank Bösenberg. Above all, he said, the European supplier industry in the areas of chip design, chemicals, wafer and mask production, and automation will be strengthened. In addition, Europe demonstrates the ability to act.
On Tuesday evening, the EU agreed to mobilize 43 billion euros for the expansion of the microchip industry in the EU. The investments for this are to come from the EU budget and the private sector, among others. A total of 3.3 billion euros is earmarked from the EU budget. European Parliament and EU states must still formally agree to the agreement - but that is considered a formality.
With the so-called chip law, the dependence on Asian countries is to be reduced above all. Semiconductors are needed for products such as cars, household appliances, cell phones and many other goods.
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