Global Electronics Association calls for expansion of EU Chips Act to support critical industries

Global Electronics Association is urging the European Commission to expand the scope of the EU Chips Act, warning that the current focus on semiconductor fabrication alone leaves Europe exposed to significant supply chain vulnerabilities for critical European industries.

In its contribution to the Commission’s review of the Chips Act, the Association stresses that Europe cannot achieve technological resilience without rebuilding the full electronics value chain, including system level packaging, especially Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), PCB Assemblies (PCBAs), and final assembly and test.

The Association notes that Europe’s capability to manufacture these essential technologies has eroded dramatically over the past two decades, creating critical dependencies on non-EU suppliers. This trend undermines Europe’s economic security and threatens the competitiveness of industries such as defence, automotive, AI data centres, and industrial automation—sectors that rely heavily on high-performance, trusted electronics systems. While the Chips Act has stimulated progress in semiconductor fabrication, it has not addressed the downstream capabilities needed to translate chips into finished, deployable technologies.

To reverse this decline, the Global Electronics Association is calling for a broader, silicon-to-systems strategy that complements the existing Act. This includes dedicated EU funding for system level packaging, especially PCB, PCBA, and final assembly and test; simplified financial support for small and mid-sized electronics manufacturers; and the creation of a permanent dialogue between industry and policymakers to identify gaps and coordinate action. The Association is also urging the EU to introduce a comprehensive European Electronics Strategy aligned with defence readiness and economic security objectives.

The Chips Act was an important first step, but Europe must now address the full electronics ecosystem. Without strengthening system-level manufacturing capacity, the EU risks building world-class chips that cannot be integrated into systems made in Europe—limiting resilience, innovation, and strategic autonomy.