European Chips Act
On September 13, 2023 was approved the REGULATION (EU) 2023/1781 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/694 (Chips Act).
The Ministry of Economics has been designated as the main responsible institution in Latvia for the implementation of the European Chips Act.
In accordance with the regulation of the Chips Act, the Ministry of Economics implements the following activities:
- nominates an applicant for the status of a national competence center, which will be delegated to participate in the Joint Untertaking "Chips for Europe";
- establish a single point of contact (one stop shop), with the task to monitor the ecosystem and make forecasts, identify and gather the main market participants, as well as, if necessary, alert the European Commission in a crisis situation;
- ensure participation in the European Semiconductor Board and Committee.
Memorandum of understanding for the development of the chips industry in Latvia
On November 29, 2022, a memorandum of understanding was signed for the development of Latvia's capabilities in the supply chain of chips necessary for electronics production.
The memorandum was signed by the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Latvia, the Institute of Solid State Physics of the University of Latvia, the University of Latvia, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Economics, VAS "Elektroniskie Sakari", "Tet", "MikroTik", Employers' Confederation of Latvia, Riga Technical University, Liepāja Special Economic Zone Administration and "LMT".
The purpose of the memorandum is for the involved partners to agree on a common vision and work plan that would determine the role of Latvia and the development of the ecosystem in the chip supply chain. The memorandum includes three main directions:
- promote the development of the chip ecosystem in Latvia;
- develop educational opportunities and research in the field of chips in Latvia;
- increase development and production capabilities in chip supply chains in Latvia.
By signing the memorandum, the partners undertake to promote the development of chip equipment and the industry, in particular - research, design, production and testing, putting it as a long-term mission for Latvia. The memorandum was concluded for ten years, with the possibility of extending it for another ten years (not exceeding twenty years in total).