(New: more details and background)

BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - In order to become more independent from the US and China in the development of microelectronics and chips, the EU has approved a multi-billion aid program. This should make dozens of projects possible, many of them in Germany, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager outlined the plans in Brussels on Thursday. Microchips are the backbone of the economy, she said, and Europe must increase its own capabilities here. "We have to become pioneers," Vestager said.

Under the so-called "Important Projects of Common European Interest" (IPCEI), aid amounting to 8.1 billion euros will be approved, according to EU figures. In addition, private companies will invest up to another 13.7 billion euros, bringing the total investment to around 21.8 billion euros. In addition to Germany, 13 other EU countries are participating in the project, including France, Austria, the Netherlands and Spain.

Many of the projects and partners benefiting from the program are based in Germany. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck thanked the EU Commission for the decision. The projects strengthen Germany as a microelectronics location and are an important industrial policy milestone, he explained in Berlin. "We can thus increase resilience throughout Europe in this important field and secure value creation and jobs."

Across Germany, 31 projects in 11 German states are involved. The number is not directly comparable with the 68 projects across Europe that the EU Commission is talking about - the ministry is talking about around 100 projects across Europe. This is due to different counting methods, the ministry explained: While the EU Commission lists legal entities, the Ministry of Economics counts different projects of companies such as Bosch or Infineon individually. According to the EU Commission's method of counting, there are 23 projects in Germany.

In addition to large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups are also involved in Germany. According to an overview by the Ministry of Economics, there are many projects in Bavaria and Saxony. According to the report, requested companies will include Infineon, with sites in Bavaria, Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, and Bosch, with sites in Baden-Württemberg and Dresden. The projects range from materials production and chip design to the creation of new products and applications.

According to the BMWK, the investment program aims to catch up in microelectronics and communications technologies, especially in areas where Europe has become technologically dependent on third countries. The demand for microelectronics should contribute to the creation of modern chip factories in Germany and the development of more powerful components, according to the Ministry of Economics. It is assumed that the requested German companies will additionally implement private investments in research and development, production facilities and buildings in the double-digit billion range. At the same time, the national projects would create more than 4,000 direct new jobs.

It is already the second major microelectronics offensive of the EU, which had already approved a similar program in 2018. At that time, according to EU Commissioner Vestager, a Bosch chip factory in Dresden and Carl Zeiss in Baden-Württemberg, among others, had benefited. The EU Commission must approve important national demand projects so that there are no distortions of competition between EU states./sus/DP/jha