DG CNECT
EC Directorate-General driving EU digital policy, AI Act, Chips Act, and sovereign cloud strategy.
Last refreshed: 19 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why is DG CNECT staying silent on the EU Chips Act 20% target?
Timeline for DG CNECT
Issued no post-13 April communication restating the 20% semiconductor market share target
European Tech Sovereignty: Brussels stays silent on 20% chip goalManaged the IP_26_833 procurement process
European Tech Sovereignty: EU awards first sovereign cloud dealCo-issued preliminary compliance measures and opened public consultation closing 1 May
European Tech Sovereignty: DMA orders Google to open search dataContinued Chips Act pilot-line approvals without restating the 20% market share target
European Tech Sovereignty: Italy gets €211m photonic chip aid- What is DG CNECT in the EU?
- DG CNECT is the European Commission's digital policy directorate, responsible for the AI Act, Chips Act, DMA, and Digital Decade targets.Source: European Commission
- Who runs EU digital policy?
- DG CNECT under Commissioner Henna Virkkunen (Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy portfolio), working alongside DG COMP for competition enforcement.Source: European Commission
- What is DG CNECT's role in the EU Chips Act?
- DG CNECT implements the Chips Act, approving pilot-line designations and state-aid packages, and oversees the 2030 20% global market share target that has not been formally revised despite flagship fab cancellations.Source: European Commission Chips Act page, April 2026
Background
DG CNECT is the European Commission directorate responsible for shaping and implementing EU digital policy, including the AI Act, the Chips Act, the Digital Markets Act (alongside DG COMP), the Data Act, and the Digital Decade targets. It is the institutional owner of European tech sovereignty as a policy concept. In April 2026, DG CNECT co-issued preliminary DMA compliance measures requiring Google to share search data with AI rivals on FRAND terms and oversaw the €180m sovereign cloud procurement framework for EU institutions .
DG CNECT leads the implementation of the EU Chips Act, which committed €43bn toward building European semiconductor production capacity with a target of 20% global market share by 2030. Following the cancellation of the Intel Magdeburg fab and suspension of the GlobalFoundries Crolles project in 2025, neither DG CNECT nor Commissioner Virkkunen has formally restated or revised the 20% target.
The directorate's operational pattern in 2026 is approving state-aid packages and pilot-line designations (NanoIC at €700m, Italian photonics at €211m) while leaving the original headline ambition un-retracted. This creates uncertainty for European semiconductor investors and member-state planners, who cannot calibrate national investment strategies against a target that has no credible delivery mechanism but has not been formally abandoned .
