13 Amendments of Alfred SANT related to 2022/0032(COD)
Amendment 149 #
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 its strategic autonomy by enhancing 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, strengthening Europe's semiconductor supply and value chains, serving key industrial sectorand support the reinforcement and development of skills and a qualified workforce, serving key societal objectives and creating new markets.
Amendment 152 #
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. These competence centres should provide a range of services to semiconductor stakeholders, with a particular focus on start-ups and SMEs, and represent an important vector for the development of skills. 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 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. Each competence centre should be an entry point to connect to other competence centres of the network. Synergies with existing structures with similar objectives, such as European Digital Innovation Hubs, should be encouraged. 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. While the Initiative is established for the duration of the MFF 2021-2027, due consideration should be given to supporting the EU’s semiconductor ecosystem in the future as the strengthening of the EU’s semiconductor ecosystem will require a long-term and sustained effort. _________________ 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 153 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 a (new)
Recital 12 a (new)
(12 a) To foster the emergence of a qualified workforce necessary to support a strengthened European semiconductor ecosystem in all its dimensions, programmes and initiatives to mobilise and attract new talent, including from third countries, as well as to reskill and upskill the existing working force, should be promoted, all while keeping in mind the gender gap in European industries and ensuring decent working conditions. The steps needed to strengthen the connection between the industrial ecosystem, Research & Innovation and the educational system, as well as the educational needs, could be explored jointly with the Alliance on Microprocessors and Semiconductors.
Amendment 155 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) With a view to accelerating implementation of the actions of the Initiative, it is necessary to provide an option of implementing some of the Initiative actions, in particular on pilot lines, through a new legal instrument, the European Chips Infrastructure Consortium (ECIC). The ECIC should have legal personality. This means that when applying for the actions to be funded by the Initiative, the ECIC itself, and not individual entities forming the ECIC, can be the applicant. The main aim of the ECIC should be to encourage effective and structural collaboration between legal entities, including Research and Technology Organizations. For this reason, the ECIC has to involve the participation of at least three legal entities from three Member States and be operated as a public- private sector consortium for a specific action. The setting up of ECIC should not involve the actual setting up of a new Union body and should not be targeted at one specific action under the Initiative. It should address the gap in the Union’s toolbox to combine funding from Member States, the Union budget and private investment for the purposes of implementing actions of the Initiative. In particular, strong synergies can be attained through combined development of the different pilot lines in an ECIC, pooling the Union’s contribution with the collective resources of the Member States and other participants. The budget of the ECIC that would be made available by Member States and private sector participants over its projected period of operation should respect the timeframes of the actions implemented under this Initiative. The Commission should not be directly a party in the Consortium. With a view to ensure better involvement of all industrial players in these private-public partnerships, ECICs should seek to have a diverse composition, including the participation of small and medium sized companies.
Amendment 169 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 35
Recital 35
(35) As part of the monitoring, national competent authorities should also do a mapping of key undertakings operating in the Union along the semiconductor supply chain established in their national territory and notify this information to the Commission.
Amendment 186 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) setting the criteria to recognise and to support first-of-a-kind Integrated Production Facilities and Open EU Foundries that foster the security of supply of semiconductors and the deployment of novel and innovative semiconductor technologies in the Union;
Amendment 189 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10
(10) ‘first-of-a-kind facility’ means an industrial facility capable of semiconductor manufacturing, including front-end or back-end, or both front-end and back-end semiconductor manufacturing facility, which provides innovation with regard to the manufacturing process or final product, that is not yet substantively already present or committed to be built within the Union, for instance with regard to the technology noand it includes, substrate material, such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride, and other productbut is not limited to, innovation that can offer betteroncerns performance, improcess innovation or energy and environmental performancevements in computing power or in the level of security, safety or reliability, or in energy and environmental performance, or in the use of a new technology node or substrate material, or in the implementation of production processes that lead to efficiency gains;
Amendment 190 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 13
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 13
(13) ‘back-end’ means the packaging, assembly and test of each individual integrated circuit; bonding, assembly and packaging, as well as the functional and quality test of each individual component coming out from the manufacturing of the semiconductor product;
Amendment 195 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2
Article 3 – paragraph 2
2. The Initiative, amongst others, 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 1.65 billion and EUR 1.65 billion respectively. This funding shall be implemented in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 2021/695 and Regulation (EU) No 2021/694.
Amendment 198 #
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 twin digital and green transition, notably by reducing the environmental impact of next generation chips and contributing to the circular economy, as well as promoting secure and resilient designs capable to counter cybersecurity threats.
Amendment 211 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – point f a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – point f a (new)
(f a) the composition of the ECIC with regard to facilitating contributions of SMEs.
Amendment 220 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new)
(b a) its establishment and operations strengthen the semiconductor value chains in the Union as a whole, while promoting the participation of all Member States, leveraging it towards convergent and complementary approaches, particularly with regard to regions facing permanent natural disadvantages, such as peripheral, remote and insular regions;
Amendment 238 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 2 a (new)