The European Union’s original plan to become a semiconductor powerhouse is getting a do-over. The upcoming Chips Act 2.0, expected around June 3, 2026, will shift the bloc’s strategy from luring advanced chip fabrication plants to a more fundamental problem: making sure someone in Europe actually buys the chips Europe wants to produce.
From €43 billion to €120 billion, and a reality check
The original European Chips Act, introduced in 2023, set an ambitious target of €43 billion in combined public and private investment. The goal was to double the EU’s share of global semiconductor production to 20% by 2030.
That’s not happening. The European Court of Auditors has assessed that the original objective is “very unlikely” to be met. Slow progress and fragmented funding across member states turned a bold industrial policy into a cautionary tale about setting targets without clear mechanisms to hit them.
The revised plan swings big in the other direction. Chips Act 2.0 aims to mobilize €120 billion ($140 billion) in investments by 2035. That’s nearly three times the original figure and represents one of the largest coordinated industrial subsidies the EU has ever attempted in technology.
