Access to semiconductors is crucial to Europe’s competitiveness, security, and industrial future. At a time when the security of supply of these components is no longer guaranteed, geopolitical risks related to the US-China rivalry and Russian ambitions in Europe must be better integrated into both public and private decision-making. The EU has an urgent need for chip diplomacy to better anticipate crises, adapt to the geopolitical environment, and meet the competitiveness, innovation, and dependency reduction goals outlined in the Draghi report.
In light of this situation, the project proposed by Institut Montaigne (Paris – coordinator), the Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS, Bratislava – beneficiary), the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS, Brussels – beneficiary) and the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS, Paris and Brussels – associated partner) has been selected by the European Commission to pilot the Chips Diplomacy Support Initiative, an 18-month project co-funded by the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT).
This project aims to structure European foreign policy in the semiconductor sector. Its objective is to better anticipate and strengthen risk management for this strategic industry—covering production, access to components, supply chain diversification, and financing—while adapting industrial policy to a geopolitical environment increasingly shaped by economic coercion and the risk of war. The project’s activities will also seek to promote a more coordinated approach among the 27 EU Member States in areas such as innovation, industrial policy, and technology transfer controls. Additionally, it will work to expand expertise networks with key partners like the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, as well as emerging players such as India and ASEAN countries.
To achieve this, the consortium will strengthen dialogues between European non-state actors such as industry, research and technology organisations and think tanks; upgrade exchanges with key EU partners; provide European actors with policy papers and analytical tools to better manage geopolitical risks; and deliver regular updates to the European Commission on the challenges facing EU industry. Finally, through outreach activities on European soil, the project aims to showcase Europe’s industrial and innovation strengths in order to attract investment and talent.
Within the consortium, CEIAS will be leading the work on developing an Interactive Map of the EU Semiconductor Ecosystem to enhance collective intelligence about the EU’s semiconductor sector and the implementation of the Chips Act and a public conference in Prague. We will also contribute to other research and industry dialogue activities led by the consortium.
Donor: Co-funded by the European Union
Partners: Institut Montaigne (Paris) Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS, Brussels) and the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS, Paris and Brussels)
Contact: Filip Šebok, the coordinator of CEIAS involvement in the project (sebok@ceias.eu)
Website: https://www.institutmontaigne.org/en/publications/chips-diplomacy-support-initiative
