CERRE brought together Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, and Patrick Gelsinger, CEO of Intel, to discuss with Bruno Liebhaberg, the CERRE Director General, the global semiconductor (chip) shortage and the EU’s innovation and digital sovereignty ambitions.
The global chip shortage, sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, is having dramatic knock-on effects for manufacturing and, more widely, the achievement of the EU’s innovation and digital sovereignty ambitions.
To address the issue, President von der Leyen announced, in her State of the Union speech last month, a breakthrough ‘EU Chips Act’. In a recent speech, Commissioner Breton mentioned how this is a “third way” for Europe to enhance its strategic autonomy in this area. And Intel, the world largest manufacturer of semiconductors, revealed its intention to build new chip-making facilities in Europe, valued at up to €80 billion.
How long is this crunch likely to last? How can Europe manage its dependencies? What does the EU “third way” actually imply?
Rewatch the debate below and find out what was discussed on these and many other hot issues ranking highly on political agendas.