The next EC will be an investment Commission, von der Leyen says

The next European Commission must be and will be an investment Commission, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday, noting that in the first 100 days of the new mandate, she would propose a new Clean Industrial Deal.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC) semiconductor plant in Dresden, von der Leyen said that boosting the bloc’s industrial competitiveness was a central pillar of the new five-year programme of the European Commission that she put forward in July.

First, she added, “I will propose a new European Competitiveness Fund as part of our new budget”, noting that it would invest in strategic technologies, “and it will contribute to our Important Projects of Common European Interest, the so-called IPCEI, including in the field of chips and advanced packaging.”

“The next European Commission must be and will be an investment Commission”, von der Leyen said. She also said that in the first 100 days of the new mandate, she would propose a new Clean Industrial Deal. One of its central goals will be to ensure access to cheap clean energy, and raw materials, she added.

The Commission President also said that they would establish a Union of Skills. We want European workers to have the training they need for the quality jobs that are being created in Europe, she added.

“We all know that the global race for the technologies of tomorrow is on. And I want Europe to really switch gear”, von der Leyen said.

Referring to the groundbreaking ceremony for the semiconductor plant she said that “the world's largest chipmaker is coming to our continent”, adding that European workers would gain 11,000 new jobs, both in Dresden and Saxony and across Europe.

She also said that European industries would benefit from more reliable local supply chains, and new products that are tailored to their needs.

The project is a collaboration between the Taiwanese multinational company TSMC and three European companies, Bosch, Infineon, and NXP.

(Source: CNA)