Activities of Helmut SCHOLZ related to 2022/0032(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem (Chips Act)
Amendments (20)
Amendment 62 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) Semiconductors are at the core of any digital device: from smartphones and cars, through critical applications and infrastructures in health, energy, communications and automation to most other industry sectors. While semiconductors are essential to the functioning of our modern economy and society, the Union has witnessed unprecedented disruptions in their supply. The current supply shortage is a symptom of permanent and serious structural deficiencies in the Union’s semiconductor value and supply chain. The disruptions have exposed long-lasting vulnerabilities in this respect, notably a strong dependency on five companies based in three third- country dependencyies in manufacturing and design of chips.
Amendment 64 #
(1 a) The global semiconductor market is projected to grow from $573.44 billion in 2022 to $ 1,380.79 billion by 2029, with the European Union representing about ten percent of the global market. The increase is driven by the essential role of semiconductors for the automotive industry and the production of electronic vehicles, but also for sectors like renewable energies, data centres, and artificial intelligence applications.
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1 b (new)
Recital 1 b (new)
(1 b) A massive increase in the production of semiconductors is necessary in order to roll out the technologies and applications globally, which are necessary to defeat climate change and to achieve the United Nations' sustainable development goals by 2030.
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1 c (new)
Recital 1 c (new)
Amendment 70 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) A framework for increasing the Union’s resilience in the field of semiconductor technologies should be established, stimulating investment, strengthening the capabilities of the Union’s semiconductor supply chain, and increasing cooperation among the Member States and the Commission, and the Union's strategic partners.
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) It is necessary to take measures to build capacity and strengthen the Union’s semiconductor sector in line with Article 173(3) of the Treaty. These measures do not entail the harmonisation of national laws and regulations. In this regard, the Union should reinforce the competitiveness and resilience of the semiconductor technological and industrial base, whilst strengthening the innovation capacity of its semiconductor sector, reducing dependence on a limited number of third country companies and geographies, and strengthening its capacity to design and produce advanced components. The Chips for Europe Initiative (the ‘Initiative’) should support these aims by bridging the gap between Europe’s advanced research and innovation capabilities and their sustainable industrial exploitation. It should promote capacity building to enable design, production and systems integration in next generation semiconductor technologies, enhance collaboration among key players across the Union and with its strategic partners, strengthening Europe's semiconductor supply and value chains, serving key industrial sectors and creating new marktechnological solutions for the sustainable development of our planets.
Amendment 90 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) Given the globalised nature of the semiconductor supply chain, international cooperation with third countriee Union's strategic partners is an important element to achieve a resilience of the Union’s semiconductor ecosystem. The actions taken under this Regulation should also enable the Union to play a stronger role, as a centre of excellence, in a better functioning global, interdependent semiconductors ecosystem. The Commission, assisted by the European Semiconductor Board, should cooperate and build partnerships with third countriee Union's strategic partners with a view to seeking solutions to address, to the extent possible, disruptions of the semiconductor supply chain.
Amendment 95 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) The semiconductor sector is characterised by very high development and innovation costs and very high costs for building state of the art testing and experimentation facilities to support the industrial production. This has direct impact on the competitiveness and innovation capacity of the Union industry, as well as on the security and resilience of the supply. In light of the lessons learnt from recent shortages in the Union and worldwide and being aware that no country is able to create and maintain self-sufficiency over the next decade given the rapid evolution of technology challenges and innovation cycles affecting the semiconductor value chain, it is necessary to strengthen the Union’s competitiveness, resilience and innovation capacity and ability to cooperate by setting up the Initiative.
Amendment 97 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) In order to equip the Union with the semiconductor technology research and innovation capacities needed to maintregain its research and industrial investments at a leading edge, and bridge the current gap between research and development and manufacturing, the Union and its Member States should better coordinate their efforts and co-invest. To achieve this, the Union and Member States, should take into consideration the twin digital and green transition goals. The Initiative throughout all components and actions, to the extent possible, should mainstream and maximise the benefits of application of semiconductor technologies as powerful enablers for the sustainability transition that can lead to new products and more efficient, effective, clean and durable use of resources, including energy and materials necessary for production and the whole lifecycle use of semiconductors.
Amendment 99 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) In order to achieve its general objective, and address both the supply and demand side challenges of the current semiconductor ecosystem, the Initiative should include five main components. First, to reinforce Europe’s design capacity, the Initiative should support actions to build a virtual platform that is available across the Union. The platform should connect the communities of design houses, SMEs and start-ups, intellectual property and tool suppliers, with research and technology organisations to provide virtual prototype solutions based on co- development of technology. Second, in order to strengthen the security and resilience of supply and reducing the Union’s dependency on third country production, the Initiative should support development and access to pilot lines. The pilot lines should provide for the industry a facility to test, experiment and validate semiconductor technologies and system design concepts at the higher technology readiness levels beyond level 3 but under level 8 while reducing environmental impacts as much as possible. Union investments along Member States investment and with the private sector in pilot lines is necessary to address the existing structural challenge and market failure where such facilities are not available in the Union hindering innovation potential and global competitiveness of the Union. Third, in order to enable investments in alternative technologies, such as quantum technologies, conducive to the development of the semiconductors sector, the Initiative should support actions including on design libraries for quantum chips, pilot lines for building quantum chips and testing and experimentation facilities for quantum components. Fourth, in order to promote the use of the semiconductor technologies, to provide access to design and pilot line facilities, and to address skills gaps across the Union, the Initiative should support establishment of the competence centres on semiconductors in each Member State. Access to publicly funded infrastructure, such as pilot and testing facilities, and to the competence network, should be open to a wide range of users provided that the IPRs stay in the European Union, and must be granted on a transparent and non- discriminatory basis and on market terms (or cost plus reasonable margin basis) for large undertakings, while SMEs can benefit from preferential access or reduced prices. Such access, including for international research and commercial partners, can lead to broader cross- fertilisation and gains in know-how and excellence, while contributing to cost recovery. Fifth, The Commission should set-up a dedicated semiconductor investment facility support (as part of the investment facilitation activities described collectively as the ‘Chips Fund’) proposing both equity and debt solutions, including a blending facility under the InvestEU Fund established by Regulation (EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and Council53 , in close cooperation with the European Investment Bank Group and together with other implementing partners such as national promotional banks and institutions. The ‘Chips Fund’ activities should support the development of a dynamic and resilient semiconductor ecosystem by providing opportunities for increased availability of funds to support the growth of start-ups and SMEs as well as investments across the value chain, including for other companies in the semiconductor value chains. In this context, the European Innovation Council will provide further dedicated support through grants and equity investments to high risk, market creating innovators. _________________ 53 Regulation (EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 March 2021 establishing the InvestEU Programme and amending Regulation (EU) 2015/1017 (OJ L 107, 26.3.2021, p. 30).
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) In order to overcome the limitations of the current fragmented public and private investments efforts, facilitate integration, cross-fertilisation, and return on investment on the ongoing programmes and to pursue a common strategic Union vision on semiconductors as a means to realising the ambition of the Union and of its Member States to ensure a leading role in the digital economy, the Chips for Europe Initiative should facilitate better coordination and closer synergies between the existing funding programmes at Union and national levels, better coordination and collaboration with industry and key private sector stakeholders and additional joint investments with Member States. The implementation set up of the Initiative is built to pool resources from the Union, Member States and third countriestrategic partners associated with the existing Union Programmes, as well as the private sector. The success of the Initiative can therefore only be built on a collective effort by Member States, with the Union, to support both the significant capital costs and the wide availability of virtual design, testing and piloting resources and diffusion of knowledge, skills and competences, and support in patenting the results. Where appropriate, in view of the specificities of the actions concerned, the objectives of the Initiative, specifically the ‘Chips Fund’ activities, should also be supported through a blending facility under the InvestEU Fund.
Amendment 120 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) It is important to take into account the specific insights into the supply situation of users of semiconductors. Therefore, Member States should identify and regularly exchange with the main user categories on their national markets. Furthermore, Member States should offer the possibility for relevant stakeholder organisations, including industry associations and representatives of the main user categories, to provide information regarding significant changes in demand and supply, and known disruptions of their global supply chain, this could include the unavailability of critical semiconductors or raw materials, longer than average lead-time, delays in delivery and exceptional price surges.
Amendment 162 #
(c) setting up a coordination mechanism between the Member States and the Commission for monitoring the supplyglobal supply chains of semiconductors and crisis response to semiconductor shortages.
Amendment 179 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2
Article 3 – paragraph 2
2. The Initiative shall be supported by funding from the Horizon Europe programme and the Digital Europe programme, and in particular Specific Objective 6 thereof, for a maximum indicative amount of EUR 1.653 billion and EUR 1.653 billion respectively. This funding shall be implemented in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 2021/695 and Regulation (EU) No 2021/694.
Amendment 180 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. The general objective of the Initiative is to support large-scale technological capacity building and innovation throughout the Union to enable development and deployment of cutting- edge and next generation semiconductor and quantum technologies that will reinforce the Union advanced design, systems integration and chips production capabilities, as well as contribute to the achievement of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals through the twin digital and green transition.
Amendment 185 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point d – point 1
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point d – point 1
(1) strengthen capacities and offer a wide range of expertise, including on patenting and IPRs, to the stakeholders, including end-user SMEs and start-ups, facilitating access to and effective use of the above capacities and facilities;
Amendment 188 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point d – point 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point d – point 2
(2) address the skills shortage, promote international cooperation, attracting and mobilising new talent and supporting the emergence of a suitably skilled workforce for strengthening the semiconductor sector, including via reskilling and upskilling of workers.
Amendment 203 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) raising awareness and providing or ensuring access to expertise, knowhow and services, including system design readiness, new and existing pilot lines and supporting actions necessary to build skills and competences capacities, including patenting and IPRs, supported by this Initiative;
Amendment 205 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) facilitating the transfer of expertise and knowhow between Member States and regions encouraging exchanges of skills, knowledge and good practices and encouraging joint programmes, including with strategic partners;
Amendment 221 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1
1. Integrated Production Facilities and Open EU Foundries shall be considered to contribute to the security of supply of semiconductors and to maintain Intellectual Property Rights in the Union and therefore to be in the public interest.