site.btaBulgaria Joins Declaration on Semiconductor Industry Cooperation in EU

Bulgaria has joined a Joint Declaration on Cooperation in the Semiconductor Industry (Semicon Declaration) within the EU. In Brussels, Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth Georgi Angelov attended the official handover of the document to the European Commission. The declaration aims to strengthen the EU’s policy in the semiconductor field, with particular focus on the upcoming revision of the EU Chips Act (Chips Act 2.0). The declaration is supported by all 27 EU member states, the Innovation and Growth Ministry said on its official website on Monday.

Through the Semiconductor Declaration, EU member states form a semiconductor coalition expressing their commitment to ensuring supply chain security in the semiconductor industry, developing innovative technologies throughout the entire value chain, supporting startups and scale-ups, and maintaining close coordination in this key European industry.

The declaration calls on the European Commission to prioritize three key goals in the revision of the EU Chips Act: prosperity, irreplaceability, and sustainability. Prosperity refers to strengthening the European semiconductor ecosystem with the goal of generating economic and social value. Irreplaceability means maintaining and reinforcing leadership at critical points in the value chain.

Lastly, sustainability is about ensuring capacity, supply chain stability, and technological autonomy. 

End-user markets such as artificial intelligence, the automotive industry, energy, and defence should play a central role in further defining these objectives.

According to Deputy Minister Georgi Angelov, Bulgaria’s vision in the semiconductor field focuses on developing chip design and creating intellectual property (IP), establishing manufacturing capacity in backend operations - assembly, testing, and packaging of already-produced chips, and producing equipment for semiconductor manufacturing.

Plans also include strengthening research and development, education and training, and the integration of artificial intelligence, building on Bulgaria’s established and recognizable position in the information technology sector.

“The semiconductor coalition lays the foundation for a new type of European cooperation - one built on Europe’s technological, scientific, and political achievements, and aligned with both current and future challenges,” Deputy Minister Angelov added.