In the global chips arms race, Europe makes its move

IN 2013 THE EUEUEU launched an ambitious project. The aim was to double the share of microchips made in Europe to 20% of the global total by 2020. Nearly a decade later it remains stubbornly stuck at 10%. If that were not bad enough, Europe no longer makes any of the most advanced chips of the sort that go into data centres or smartphones (see chart). So, prompted by and their growing importance for all sorts of industries, the bloc is having another go.Judged by numbers alone, the ’s new Chips Act, unveiled on February 8th, could move the needle. It is meant to generate public and private investment of more than €43bn ($49bn), about as much as a similar package working its way through America’s Congress. More than two-thirds of this money is supposed to take the form of state subsidies for new leading-edge chip-fabrication plants, or “mega fabs”—thanks to a more generous interpretation of restrictions on state aid. The rest will go to other chipmaking infrastructure.