New IPC Europe Report, Advocacy Campaign

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In the European Union, as in the United States, today’s geopolitical realities are shaping a new approach to the region’s industrial strategy. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as tensions in East Asia and actions being taken in other regions to support key industries, are heightening Europe’s focus on measures to close productivity and innovation gaps, especially where they raise security concerns.

This is a critical moment for the European Union, with elections to the European Parliament and a new five-year mandate for the European Commission coming up in June. In that context, increasing attention is being given to “de-risking” strategic industries and their supply chains with a goal of ensuring that Europe has access to everything it needs for its security, its future competitiveness, and its digital and green transitions.

IPC has long made the case that electronics manufacturing lies at the heart of Europe’s future, and a holistic approach is needed to reinforce the resiliency of its electronics manufacturing industry. The European Chips Act was an important first step, but many vulnerabilities remain. As part of a stakeholder dialogue last year with the European Commission, an IPC-curated report highlighted the key capacity and capability gaps in Europe’s printed circuit board (PCB) and electronics assembly sectors, and called for new measures to support their competitiveness, resiliency, and growth.

In June, IPC will publish a new study on the next steps needed to reinforce the electronics value chain “from silicon to systems.” Also, IPC and leading European electronics manufacturers will launch a fresh advocacy campaign on these issues.

Improving Europe’s resiliency and competitiveness requires a multifaceted, long-term approach, and that is exactly what IPC and its members advocate.

Alison James is senior director of IPC Europe.

This article originally appeared in the June 2024 issue of SMT007 Magazine.