MADRID ( Associated Press) – The Spanish government on Tuesday announced a 12.3 billion euro ($13.2 billion) investment plan to help transform the country into a major producer of microchips and reduce Spain and the European Union’s dependence on other suppliers. Of.
The announcement in Madrid came as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was to meet with leaders of tech firms at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, to explain the plan and seek further investment.
Speaking in Madrid, Nadia Calvino, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, said that the aim of the Five Year Plan is to enable Spain to cover every area in the design and production of microchips, which are now considered critical to all sectors of modern industry. Is.
The lack of a global computer chip has made it difficult for consumers to obtain cars, computers, and other modern-day necessities. EU announces $48 billion plan To become a major semiconductor producer, it reflects US President Joe Biden’s $52 billion push to invest in the national chip-producing sector to ensure more production domestically.
She said the plan was the most ambitious of the Spanish government’s projects to restart the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic and would have an impact on other sectors.
The project was directed to boost the EU’s weak position in microchip production, which Calvino said represented 10% of the world’s total. She said this has increased dependence on a small number of major producers such as Taiwan, the United States, South Korea, Japan and China.
Calvino said that “the war in Ukraine prioritizes the strengthening of strategic autonomy in energy, technology, food production as well as cyber security.”
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