Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1543584
10 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2026 What efforts are you making around defense elec- tronics in Europe? In our study from last year, we determined that to achieve greater autonomy in defense, you need electronics, and we now have several initiatives and positions ongoing within the European Union. As Europe looks to build up its defense industry, we need to ensure we have an electronics industry capable of supporting and facilitating it. What else is happening now? There are multiple discussions and revisions regard- ing public procurement reviews, including defense, as well as other strategic industries. Remember our call to action, where we said we need to ensure a minimum autonomy threshold for critical electronic supply and manufacturing in Europe? A demand signal is needed to achieve this minimum autonomy. Therefore, public procurement and public funding can, of course, be very helpful tools for stimulat- ing demand. Also, in this context, there should be a revision of the public procurement directives so we can have the ability to procure European content in strategic sectors and industries. That's a sweeping overview, but ultimately, we're consistently rolling out our call to action regarding supply and demand instruments. What was the focus of the workshop with the Euro- pean Commission? It was the official consultation of the European Commission on the review of the European Chips Act. We were part of it through a workshop specif- ically for PCB and EMS supplier companies in the context of that review. It was meant to present the views in the same way that the European Commis- sion consulted the semiconductor industry. Through us, they heard the perspectives and feedback of the PCB and EMS industries on what they would need in the Chips Act going forward. You also mentioned the demand signal. How is that signal being expressed and heard? We are at the very early stages of something that you find very normal in the U.S., where you have provisions like "Made in the USA." There's also "Make in India" or "Made in China." There is noth- ing like that in the European Union. It doesn't exist. We are completely open to the free-trading world. This is the start of a quite fiery discussion on some kind of "Made in Europe" minimum content, broadly speaking. It's beginning to gather momentum, but it is also meeting some opposition. We want elec- tronics to be a key part of that for strategic indus- tries as this evolves. This would be a fundamental change in the European Union, introducing local content provisions. So, you have technical capabilities, supply chain, manufacturing infrastructure, and culture to change all at the same time. It's a geopolitical shift, which means that thinking has to change. Because this is a global industry, we want to ensure, when we talk about minimum content thresholds, that we're referring to critical areas and sectors. We argue that the European Union must remain deeply connected to the global supply chain. Many things are happening at the same time, and it's all in progress. We have to steer the conversa- tions and framework so that electronics stay in the spotlight, and we create a resilient supply chain. From where you sit, is the current momentum sufficient? There's always a frustration in the European Union because the decision-making process is tied to 27 member states, each with its own opinion. We don't have the ability to issue executive orders in Europe, ensuring something happens very quickly. Instead, it is built into the structure of the European Union that decisions are made in consensus with A l i s o n J a m e s