EU joins chips race with Asia

The EU launches a plan Tuesday to raise tens of billions of euros to boost semiconductor production in Europe and end the bloc's digital dependence on Asia.

The production of semiconductors, also known as chips, has become a strategic priority in Europe as well as the United States, after the shock of the pandemic choked off supply, bringing factories to a standstill and emptying stores of products. The manufacturing of chips overwhelmingly takes place in Taiwan, China and South Korea and the European Union's 27 member states want factories and companies inside the bloc to take on a bigger role.

Thierry Breton, the EU's industry commissioner, on Tuesday will press Europeans to be as ambitious as possible and match similar plans in the United States, where the Biden administration is asking Congress to approve $52 billion.

Touring the IMEC chip research facility in Belgium on Monday, Breton boasted that the plan  "will position Europe as an industry leader but also give us complete control of our semiconductor supply chains".