The whole point of semi support strategies from the Mega Project and Jessi right through to Neelie Kroes’ attempt to support the development of leading edge process technology and achieve a 20% world market share was to get Europe back into having a leading-edge capability in chip technology.
The European support programmes of the 1980s and 90s did exactly that but, in later years, the European authorities gave up on stipulating the achievement of technology and market targets in return for the taxpayers’ Euro and just gave the money to existing chip companies without conditions.
Doing that goes against the whole purpose of giving money to support businesses. Governments don’t give money to businesses which are already doing perfectly well. Business is supposed to create profits, government is supposed to support business if it looks in danger or if investment will lead to some advantage e.g. higher returns or increased world market share or as a catalyst for other industrial efforts.
But giving money to healthy profitable businesses – like the big European semiconductor companies – is a bit bonkers. It goes against the grain of common sense.
The D-G of the ESIA is not a semiconductor man, he’s a trade body man – but if he was a semiconductor man he’d know that if a chip guy can fill a fab he’ll build the fab – with or without government money.
