The European Chips Act aims to bolster Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem, minimize reliance on other countries, and boost the EU’s global market share to 20% by 2030. For medium-sized, technologically developed member states such as the Czech Republic, implementing the Act reflects national strengths and exposes structural barriers. The Chips Act 2.0, which is currently under consideration, represents an opportunity to rebalance the strategy and build a more competitive, resilient, and distributed semiconductor ecosystem across the EU.

The Czech Republic’s engagement in advancing a comprehensive, EU-level semiconductor governance framework began early. Over the last few years, the country has emerged as an active contributor to EU-level debates, shaping the policy’s evolution and highlighting the needs of smaller and midsized semiconductor ecosystems. During its 2022 presidency of the Council of the EU, the Czech Republic played a pivotal role in negotiating a unified EU stance on the Chips Act, facilitating the finalization of the legislative framework and mediating compromises among member states.

Implementation challenges

National implementation of the first Chips Act accelerated in October 2024 when the government adopted its National Semiconductor Strategy. Building directly on the Chips Act, the strategy sets ambitious goals, including tripling national semiconductor production capacity by 2029, mobilizing 9,000 skilled specialists through education and migration programs, and boosting high-tech exports by 200% relative to 2022 levels. The strategy also aims to strengthen R&D, commercialization, and SME internationalization. 

One of the most significant Czech contributions to the EU semiconductor landscape is the large-scale expansion project by the US-based semiconductor company Onsemi in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. In November 2025, the European Commission approved €450 million in Czech state aid to support Onsemi’s €1.64 billion investment in a production facility for silicon carbide (SiC)—a high-performance semiconductor material. The project is designed to become the first fully integrated SiC value chain site in Central and Eastern Europe, covering everything from crystal growth to final semiconductor devices. Onsemi has also applied for recognition as an Integrated Production Facility under the Chips Act, which would prioritize the company’s supplies in times of crisis. The project represents one of the largest foreign investments in modern Czech history and a key Chips Act–related FOAK (first-of-a-kind) initiative.

The Czech Republic has also strengthened its role in Europe’s semiconductor research and development (R&D) ecosystem. In 2025, the country established the Czech Semiconductor Center, which is one of 27 national competence centers under the Chips for Europe initiative (Pillar I of the Chips Act). The center connects Czech universities, research institutions, startups, and companies with European pilot lines, training programs, and design platforms. 

Taken together, in a capital-intensive and geopolitically-driven global semiconductor ecosystem, the Czech Republic is emerging as a mid-sized pioneer in an industry otherwise dominated by big countries.

Taiwan’s connection

The Czech Republic has also contributed by cultivating strategic international partnerships, particularly with Taiwan, a leader in chip research and manufacturing despite also being a mid-sized power. Czech-Taiwanese semiconductor cooperation has expanded rapidly and includes work on joint projects supported by Taiwanese expertise. These projects pursue two goals: driving the growth of the Czech semiconductor ecosystem and strengthening Taiwan’s ties with Europe’s semiconductor sector.

According to Taiwan’s National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu, Taiwan and the Czech Republic plan to build a major European semiconductor cluster, transforming the country into one of the most important semiconductor clusters in Europe over the next three to five years.

Czech-Taiwanese semiconductor cooperation focuses on building a resilient supply chain through research, education, and investment. Key initiatives include three joint research centers in the Czech Republic: the Supply Chain Resilience Center and the Taiwanese Chip Design Training Center in Prague, as well as the Advanced Chip Design and Research Center in Brno, which is set to open in 2024. Other initiatives include student internships and investments in AI chip development to support Europe’s automotive sector. Major Taiwanese firms like Foxconn and Wistron are already operating in the country, with others considering investing.

This form of external diversification by expanding the supply chain dependency away from just China supports the EU’s broader resilience objectives. For the Czech Republic, such attention from Taiwan’s renowned semiconductor industry is further propelling it as a European hub. Taken together, the Czech Republic has become one of Taiwan’s biggest investments, behind only Europe’s traditional powerhouses, like Germany.

Future direction with EU-level governance

At the EU level, the Czech Republic has taken on a visible role in shaping the debate on the future of the Chips Act as an advocate for an open, innovation-driven semiconductor ecosystem aligned with global supply chains. In late 2025, the Czech Republic joined a coalition of nine smaller, market-oriented member states—Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, and Sweden—to oppose strict “Buy European” proposals which would redirect a portion of EU public sector demand towards truly “European” suppliers and reverse the current procurement paradigm for strategic digital services. The coalition warned that mandatory European preference policies could undermine competitiveness, raise costs, distort markets, and provoke trade retaliation. 

Similarly, Czech industry representatives have urged the EU to focus the upcoming Chips Act 2.0 on areas in which Europe and the Czech Republic already play a strong role. Czech firms such as Crytur, Tescan, SVCS Process Innovation, and Unites represent niches in which Europe remains globally competitive, yet these niches were insufficiently prioritized in the original Act. “Europe does not excel in chip design and manufacturing. We excel in the supply chain. But the original Chips Act did not address this at all. We were investing in areas where we are not that good. I hope the second version will focus on our strengths, so we can maintain our position as world leaders. This is important for maintaining Europe’s strategic position; otherwise, we will end up like we did with solar energy and electric cars,” said Jindřich Houžvička, executive director of Crytur.

Accordingly, the Czech National Semiconductor Cluster (CNSC), an industry association, highlights that Europe is not a world leader in advanced-node logic chip fabrication, but rather, it excels in supply-chain specializations such as materials, crystal growth, metrology, and semiconductor equipment. This aligns with the country’s strategic position that support should be directed toward Europe’s real strengths rather than attempting to replicate U.S. or East Asian models of advanced-node manufacturing.

As the EU prepares the Chips Act 2.0, the Czech Republic is emphasising several core priorities: shifting the focus from fab-centric policies to supply-chain resilience, ensuring equitable funding across all member states, simplifying administrative and state-aid procedures, implementing an EU-wide semiconductor talent strategy, and strengthening global partnerships. Czech leaders argue that these measures are essential to enable technologically developed, middle-sized Member States to meaningfully contribute to Europe’s semiconductor sovereignty.

Together, the Czech Republic’s diplomatic, industrial, and strategic contributions demonstrate that technologically developed, middle-sized Member States can shape and benefit from EU semiconductor policy if the policy framework evolves toward a more realistic and inclusive model. The Chips Act 2.0 represents such an opportunity.