Enable cleaner, smarter tech for Europe’s future
1916: Czochralski pioneered chip production.
Today, rules could slow down the process(or).
1916: Czochralski pioneered chip production.
Today, rules could slow down the process(or).
What is the issue?
Jan Czochralski’s groundbreaking method for growing single crystals made modern semiconductors possible – powering the microchips at the heart of every computer, smartphone, and cloud system today.
While his discovery unlocked a new industrial age, today’s challenge for European innovators lies not in invention itself, but in scaling breakthrough technologies within an increasingly complex EU regulatory framework.
If Czochralski were leading a semiconductor company today, attempting to expand chip production or deploy digital infrastructure in Europe, he would have to navigate overlapping industrial, cybersecurity, and environmental rules.
That regulatory patchwork includes, for instance, the EU Chips Act, Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), NIS2 Directive, and a range of sustainability requirements covering chemicals, batteries, sustainability reporting, and ecodesign. Each serves an important goal, but together they create duplication, friction, and higher compliance costs that deter investment and thus slow innovation.
For the companies building the semiconductor-powered devices, servers, and cloud infrastructure that underpin our digital economy, Europe’s success will require more than funding or targets. It demands coherent, innovation-friendly regulation.
To keep Europe competitive in the global, microchip-fuelled digital race, policymakers should focus on three priorities:
1. Simplify cybersecurity to strengthen Europe’s digital infrastructure.
2. Make sustainability an engine for growth.
3. Turn the Chips Act into a blueprint for competitiveness.
Simplifying and aligning these frameworks will help Europe transform scientific excellence into scalable industrial output – ensuring that Czochralski’s legacy continues to power the next generation of digital technology.
1. Simplify cybersecurity to strengthen Europe’s digital infrastructure
One smart security framework will make Europe’s digital backbone safer and stronger.
Duplicative obligations under the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), NIS 2, other EU-level legislation, and national regimes force companies to report the same incidents multiple times and meet a wide range of audit standards.
The way forward for Europe:
I. Adopt a ‘report once, comply many’ model.
Create a single EU-wide incident-reporting platform and aligned severity thresholds across the Critical Entities Resilience Directive (CER), CRA, NIS2, European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), AI Act, and the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2).
II. Ensure mutual recognition of security audits and standards.
Allow one certification or assessment to satisfy equivalent requirements under related EU laws, and those of trade partners, to significantly streamline compliance. This gives European companies a competitive advantage by enabling them to benefit from global supply chains and service providers that already adopt rigorous security assessments, eliminating redundant testing and costs.
III. Automate evidence mapping.
Enable digital re-use of security documentation so companies can focus on real-world resilience instead of redundant forms.
2. Make sustainability an engine for growth
Digital innovation should make the right environmental choice the easiest one.
Digital tools and innovation should be at the core of EU environmental goals. However, a coherent regulatory framework covering a range of topics – including batteries, digital labelling, and waste – should be put in place for this to happen.
The way forward for Europe:
I. Align environmental and industrial policy.
Address unintended overlapping requirements from several pieces of environmental and digital regulations to avoid duplicate reporting and conflicting metrics. For example, extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems are currently fragmented across both Member States and waste streams. Not only do national authorities impose different reporting timelines, but companies must also file separate declarations for each waste stream.
II. Provide realistic transition timelines.
Give businesses sufficient lead time and legal certainty to adapt to new EU legal requirements. For example, while R&D cycles average 18 months or more, the EU Batteries Regulation leaves companies with less than a year for potentially fundamental product redesign – resulting in legal uncertainty and undue liability exposure.
III. Enhance consumer information through technology neutrality.
Encourage technology-neutral solutions to improve consumer access to information and provide a harmonised framework for digital tools, such as product passports and digital labelling. This applies both to allowing companies to choose the technology that best fits their products – RFID tags, QR codes, NFC, etc – and to progressively digitalising consumer information leaflets.
IV. Provide a coherent framework.
Give companies clarity on upcoming timelines and obligations, also with a view to preventing overlap. For instance, when it comes to data-centre sustainability measures, the upcoming Cloud and AI Development Act (CAIDA) should not duplicate efforts already underway through the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED).
3. Turn the Chips Act into a blueprint for competitiveness
Europe’s chips strategy should attract investment and strengthen global innovation through open and resilient supply chains.
For global chip manufacturers and suppliers, Europe is an important hub for chip design, materials, equipment, and R&D in addition to manufacturing. Changes to the EU Chips Act can help make the region more attractive for semiconductor investments.
The way forward for Europe:
I. Build a competitive and resilient semiconductor value chain.
Strengthen the semiconductor ecosystem through partnerships between industry, SMEs, and start-ups; align EU and national funding to accelerate strategic projects and mobilise private capital; enhance skills in new technologies; partner with like-minded global partners.
II. Streamline procedures for chip projects.
Projects at Member-State level are delayed by regulatory, legal, and permitting red tape. A more streamlined and predictable framework is needed to fasten approvals and minimise administrative burdens.
III. Align the Chips Act with cybersecurity and trade rules.
New rules should not add new layers, but complement the CRA and respect international trade commitments, avoiding divergent certification or sourcing requirements. A coherent rulebook will keep Europe integrated into global semiconductor supply chains.