Speaking upon his arrival at the Competitiveness Council in Brussels, Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Michael Damianos, said that Europe should remain open to trusted partners on semiconductors while flagging the distinct concerns of smaller member states like Cyprus on merger control. Moreover, he stressed that "we should let European companies invest, innovate, grow."
"I am here today for an important Competitiveness Council with important matters, starting with the Chips Act," Damianos told reporters. On the Chips Act 2.0, he said that "Cyprus agrees with the general dimension but we should definitely remain open to trusted partners."
Turning to the review of the EU's merger control guidelines, the Minister said that "we believe we need new rules, we need certainty, but we also need to consider the realities. For example, smaller countries like Cyprus have different things to consider with respect to competition and merger control than a bigger country." He added that "the general approach today, I think, is that we should let European companies invest, innovate, grow."
Asked whether the Made in Europe initiative should keep its geographical scope open to third countries, Damianos replied that "it is something that we are considering, we will see."
Thursday's Council, chaired by Ireland's Peter Burke, opened with a policy debate on the Chips Act 2.0, aimed at strengthening Europe's semiconductor industry and cutting foreign dependencies. The original Chips Act of 2023, mobilised €53 billion in investment, yet the EU's 2025 chip consumption stood at €41.1 billion, 10.5% of global shipments, with most production still taking place outside the bloc. Under the "One Europe, One Market" roadmap, ministers are targeting agreement on Chips Act 2.0 by the second quarter of 2027.
Ministers were also briefed by Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera on the review of the EU's merger control guidelines, opened for public consultation on 30 April 2026 and introducing new tools such as an "innovation shield" and "dynamic efficiencies." The new guidelines are due to be adopted by the end of 2026.
The agenda also included updates on the Industrial Accelerator Act, the proposed 28th Regime/EU Inc. corporate framework, and the European Competitiveness Fund, along with an informal lunch debate on embedding economic security into competitiveness policy.
(Source: CNA)
