The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed a vulnerability in Europe: its dependence on foreign chips used in cars, medical equipment, smartphones, etc. For this reason, 13 countries have joined forces to invest in the development of processors and semiconductors.
Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and the Netherlands have joined forces to develop these and other essential technologies for Internet-connected devices and data processing.
Currently, the participation of countries in the Europe in the global market for processors and semiconductors is only 10%, reinforcing the need to invest to reduce foreign dependence on chips, which raises concerns about the digital security of some nations.
Heavy investment
It is not new that European countries have been targeting the digital environment in their actions, with stricter policies to invest heavily in cybersecurity processors. At the beginning of the year, European Union allocated 1/5 of its virus economic recovery fund (around 145 billion Euros) to digital projects.
The idea is that the 13 European countries will now work together to strengthen and create value for European processors and semiconductors, bringing together public and private initiatives to form partnerships and invest in research and development.
Thierry Breton, who is the Commissioner for Internal Market and Services of the European Union, said that a collective approach can leverage strengths and help European countries find new opportunities. In his words, processors “are increasingly important for Europe’s industrial strategy and its digital sovereignty.”
Photo: Jonas Svidras / Pexels
Through which channels you reach those people, classic and out of the box. Reuters.
