Overview

• Achim Kempe called the EU’s 20% semiconductor share target for 2030 “utopian” and said Europe is far from achieving it.
• He argued that massive spending in the United States, China, Taiwan and South Korea makes closing the gap unrealistic.
• Assembly-and-test operations are concentrated in Asia for cost reasons and are unlikely to return to Europe soon, Kempe said.
• An industry group previously estimated the EU share at about 8.1% and urged much greater support, and the European Court of Auditors in April projected the target would be missed due to insufficient investment.
• While praising Germany’s progress with new fabs in and around Dresden, Kempe noted Nexperia—owned by China’s Wingtech with plants in China, Malaysia and the Philippines—was excluded from EU funding in 2023 because of its ownership.