European Chips Act: Commission launches pilot system to monitor semiconductor supply chain

Today, the Commission has launched the Semiconductor Alert System, a new pilot system to monitor the semiconductor supply chain. The pilot allows stakeholders to raise awareness on any critical disruption along the semiconductors’ value chain and helps the Commission to gather information needed to establish a precise assessment of risks and to quickly react to any potential crisis situation via the European Semiconductor Expert Group.

The Semiconductor Alert System will be included under the third pillar of the European Chips Act, which aims to strengthen the preparedness and monitoring of the European semiconductor field in close collaboration with all stakeholders.

The Commission recently welcomed the political agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council on the European Chips Act.

The legislation will bolster Europe’s competitiveness, security of supply and resilience in semiconductor technologies and applications. Among the provisions, the proposal includes a coordination mechanism between the Member States and the Commission for strengthening collaboration with and across Member States, monitoring the supply of semiconductors, anticipating shortages, and, if necessary, triggering the activation of a crisis stage.

The recommendation accompanying the EU Chips Act established a European Semiconductor Expert Group (ESEG), which serves as a platform for coordination between Member States and provides advice and assistance to the Commission in the implementation of the regulation. Once the proposal is implemented, the ESEG will be replaced by the European Semiconductor Board, composed of representatives from the Member States and chaired by the Commission.