(1)

Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 (3) establishes the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/695 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) (‘Horizon Europe’), including the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking.

(2)

The Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking addresses clearly defined topics that enable European industries at large to design, manufacture and use the most innovative technologies in electronic components and systems.

(3)

Regulation (EU) 2023/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) establishes a framework for increasing the Union’s resilience in the field of semiconductor technologies, reinforcing the Union’s semiconductor ecosystem by reducing dependencies, enhancing digital sovereignty, stimulating investment, strengthening the capabilities, security, adaptability and resilience of the Union’s semiconductor supply chain, and increasing cooperation among the Member States, the Commission and international strategic partners. To create the conditions necessary to strengthen the Union’s industrial innovation capacity, the Chips for Europe Initiative (the ‘Initiative’) was established by that Regulation. In order to ensure the consistent implementation of the Initiative, the European Semiconductor Board established by Article 28 of that Regulation should provide advice to the Public Authorities Board established by Article 131 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

(4)

The activities supported under the Initiative should be funded from Horizon Europe and from the Digital Europe Programme established by Regulation (EU) 2021/694 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) (DEP), and should be implemented in accordance with the rules of those Programmes.

(5)

The Initiative aims to reinforce the competitiveness and resilience of the semiconductor technological and industrial base, whilst strengthening the innovation capacity of its semiconductor ecosystem across the Union, reducing dependence on a limited number of third-country companies and geographies, and strengthening its capacity to design and produce, package, reuse and recycle advanced semiconductors. The Initiative should support those aims by bridging the gap between the Union’s advanced research and innovation capabilities and their sustainable industrial exploitation. The Initiative should promote capacity building to enable design, production and system integration in next-generation semiconductor technologies, and should enhance collaboration among key players across the Union, strengthening the Union’s semiconductor supply and value chains, serving key industrial sectors and creating new markets.

(6)

The Initiative’s operational objectives referred to in Article 4(2), points (a) to (d), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1781 (‘operational objectives 1 to 4’) should be implemented through actions that should build upon the strong knowledge base acquired by the ECSEL Joint Undertaking established by Council Regulation (EU) No 561/2014 (7), which was replaced by the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking. The Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking should be renamed the Chips Joint Undertaking and should be tasked with providing financial support, through any instrument or procedure provided for in Horizon Europe or DEP, to actions funded under the Initiative. Throughout the lifetime of the Chips Joint Undertaking, up to EUR 2,875 billion should be dedicated to the Initiative. Of that amount, EUR 1,450 billion should be for capacity-building activities for operational objectives 1 to 4 and EUR 1,425 billion should be for research and innovation activities related to operational objectives 1 to 4. Furthermore, EUR 1,3 billion should be dedicated to research and innovation activities not covered under the Initiative.

(7)

The activities funded by the Chips Joint Undertaking should be covered in one single work programme, which should be adopted by the Governing Board of the Chips Joint Undertaking set up in accordance with Article 14(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 (the ‘Governing Board’). The work programme should include two specific parts. The first specific part should include a subsection on capacity-building activities for operational objectives 1 to 4 and a subsection on research and innovation activities related to operational objectives 1 to 4. The second specific part should be dedicated to research and innovation activities not covered under the Initiative.

(8)

All research and innovation activities, including those related to the Initiative, should be financed through Horizon Europe to implement the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda as defined in Article 2, point (12), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2085. The subsection dedicated to capacity-building activities should be financed through DEP.

(9)

The work programme should include the conditions for access to publicly funded infrastructure, such as pilot and testing facilities and the competence centres, ensure openness to a wide range of users and grant access on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis and on market terms, or on a cost-plus-reasonable-margin basis, for large undertakings, while including preferential access or reduced prices for small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs’) and academic institutes.

(10)

Before the work programme is prepared, the Public Authorities Board, taking into account the advice of the private members to ensure the industrial relevance of the activities set out in the work programme and, where appropriate, the advice of the European Semiconductor Board and input from other relevant stakeholders, should outline the specific parts and relevant subsections, including their corresponding expenditure estimates. For that purpose, the Public Authorities Board should include only the Commission and Member States. Subsequently, on the basis of this outline and the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, the Executive Director of the Chips Joint Undertaking should prepare the work programme for both specific parts and relevant subsections and their corresponding expenditure estimates.

(11)

All representatives of the Governing Board should participate in the preparation of the work programme and in the relevant discussions, and should receive the necessary information. When the Governing Board adopts the work programme, the voting rights for the subsection on capacity-building activities of the specific part of the work programme dedicated to the implementation of the Initiative should be limited to the Commission and Member States only. For the subsection on research and innovation activities of the specific part of the work programme dedicated to the implementation of the Initiative, the Commission and the Member States should hold 45 % of the votes each and the private members 10 %. The voting rights for the specific part of the work programme dedicated to research and innovation activities not covered under the Initiative should be equally shared among the Commission, the participating states and the private members. In the event that a decision on one of the two parts of the work programme cannot be reached, the work programme should be adopted including only the part on which a positive decision has been reached.

(12)

The Public Authorities Board should be responsible for the selection of proposals. For the selection of proposals related to the implementation of the Initiative, the Public Authorities Board should include only the Commission and Member States.

(13)

The calls for proposals under the Initiative should be open to different legal forms of cooperation and other participants, and the selection of proposals for funding should not be based on a specific legal form of cooperation. With a view to facilitating the implementation of the specific actions of the Initiative, such as the design platform or pilot lines, a European chips infrastructure consortium (ECIC) may be established in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1781. An ECIC should involve the participation of at least three members, namely Member States or public or private legal entities from at least three Member States, or a combination thereof, with a view to achieving broad representation across the Union.

(14)

Given that the activities supported under the Initiative and implemented by the Chips Joint Undertaking are financed from Horizon Europe and DEP, the Union financial contribution to the Chips Joint Undertaking should be increased accordingly. The administrative costs of the Chips Joint Undertaking should also be increased in accordance with the increase of operational tasks. The participating states should not contribute to the administrative costs. The private members should not contribute to the additional administrative costs of the Chips Joint Undertaking as their voting rights for the part of the work programme dedicated to the Initiative are reduced and limited to the research and innovation activities.

(15)

Exceptionally, participating states should be allowed to report financial contributions made since 8 February 2022, provided that the corresponding national activities comply with this Regulation in particular and with the objective of enhancing existing and developing new advanced pilot lines across the Union, given that some participating states started to implement those capacity-building activities after the Commission presented the proposal for Regulation (EU) 2023/1781 due to the political urgency to respond to the seriousness of the chips crisis. The underlying costs of those activities should be eligible under certain conditions, in particular the condition that the proposals are evaluated and selected by the Chips Joint Undertaking.

(16)

The provision of financial support for activities from DEP should comply with Regulation (EU) 2021/694.

(17)

Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to establish the Chips Joint Undertaking, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can rather, by reason of its scale and effects, be better achieved at the Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

(18)

Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(19)

In order to allow for the implementation of this Regulation to start as soon as possible, with a view to reaching its objectives, it should enter into force as a matter of urgency,

(1)

in the entire Regulation, the words ‘Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking’ are replaced by the words ‘Chips Joint Undertaking’;

(2)

in Article 2, points 2, 3 and 4 are replaced by the following:

(3)

in Article 3, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

(4)

in Article 4(1), the following subparagraph is added:

‘The Chips Joint Undertaking shall also contribute to the general objective referred to in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*1), the operational objectives referred to in Article 4(2), points (a) to (d), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1781 (“operational objectives 1 to 4”) and the general objectives of DEP referred to in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/694.

(*1)  Regulation (EU) 2023/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 2023 establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/694 (Chips Act) (OJ L 229, 18.9.2023, p. 1).’;"

(5)

in Article 10, paragraphs 2 and 3 are replaced by the following:

(6)

in Article 12(1), the second and third subparagraphs are replaced by the following:

‘In addition to criteria set out in Article 22 of the Horizon Europe Regulation or, in the case of the Chips Joint Undertaking, in Article 18 of Regulation (EU) 2021/694, the work programme may include, as an annex, eligibility criteria regarding national legal entities.

Each participating state shall entrust the joint undertaking with the evaluation of the proposals according to the Horizon Europe Regulation and, where applicable, to Regulation (EU) 2021/694.’;

(7)

in Article 29, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

(8)

Article 126 is amended as follows:

(9)

Article 128 is replaced by the following:

(10)

in Article 129, paragraphs 3 and 4 are replaced by the following:

(11)

in Article 133, the following paragraph is inserted:

(12)

the following article is inserted:

(13)

Article 134 is replaced by the following:

(14)

the following article is inserted:

(15)

Article 136 is amended as follows:

(16)

Article 137 is amended as follows:

(17)

Article 141 is replaced by the following: