Semiconductors are the foundation of the modern world and yet the economy is currently suffering from supply shortages of semiconductors. After China's years of subsidies and the U.S. Chips Act, the European Commission has now also presented a proposal to promote the domestic semiconductor sector. Can the goals set by the Commission be achieved and would the economy really benefit?

From telemedicine operations to fully networked production facilities, high-performance 5G networks will drive the digitalisation of all areas of life. As a result, 5G networks will be the highway for highly sensitive data. Therefore, manufacturers of 5G network components must be trustworthy. In order to maintain the highest possible level of security, a European-wide applicable cybersecurity standard is urgently required for 5G components.

The semiconductor shortage in some industrial sectors, as well as the discussions about trustworthy suppliers of 5G components as well as GDPR-compliant cloud providers, have fuelled calls for an industrial policy targeted at enhancing Europe's digital sovereignty. However, strengthening Europe's digital sovereignty requires domestic technological and STEM competences, innovation capacities, independently developed technologies, and a supportive regulatory and political ecosystem.

The project of a European cloud is progressing rapidly: The launch of the first applications is planned for the end of 2021. This is an important step for Europe's digital sovereignty. Industrial users may also benefit from GAIA-X.

After the EU Commission presented the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in February last year, a legislative proposal on the use of AI was published in April 2021. BDI welcomes the EU Commission's technology-open and risk-based approach. An approach based on European values can create a competitive advantage for European companies but must under no circumstances constitute an obstacle to innovation.

By 2022, every German will possess around 9.7 networked devices. If these were hacked by cybercriminals, the potential consequences could be severe. Apart from DDoS attacks leading to an outage of the electricity grid, personal and business data could be stolen. As a response to these challenges, horizontal cybersecurity requirements based on the New Legislative Framework should be introduced. The CE marking must stand for cybersecurity.

In late November 2020, the European Commission published the so-called "Data Governance Act". This is the first major legislative package in a series of measures announced as part of the European Data Strategy.