Europe dreams of sovereignty – but the chip industry vanishes before our eyes

When the EU launched the Chips Act, it did so with a familiar promise: technological sovereignty. More factories, more capacity, and more control over the strategically vital products and semiconductors that will drive Europe's future. But sovereignty isn't about a single component; it's about the entire chain. The EU's overly simplified narrative assumes that strengthening wafer and chip manufacturing will automatically bring strategic autonomy. However, as the industry says, "chips don't float." They must be packaged, they need substrates—and crucially, printed circuit boards (PCBs) to be used. Without a domestic PCB industry, "autonomy" and "sovereignty" become slogans rather than a strategy