"The answer, it seems, is politics," writes Electronics Weekly's David Manners. "And instead of supporting IMEC's position as theworld's pre-eminent microelectronics R&D centre, the European chip industry is arguing that IMEC works with the likes of Samsung, Intel and TSMC, which are not European.

Manners likens such stupidity to the arguments made 25 years ago when Siemens went to Toshiba for help with CMOS technology being developed as part of the EC-backed Megaproject, and when IBM, Siemens and Motorola invited Toshiba to join them in a consortium to develop advanced process technology.
 
"Nationalism simply doesn't play in the high technology world, whether its energy, chips, bio or materials. You work with the best. If you don't, at best you become second rate.!
 
"Intel, " he points out,  "realised that when they backed ASML to take over Silicon Valley Group against the politicking of US Congressmen and Senators who said this would be handing key technology to foreigners.
 
"As Europe's microelectronics companies seem content to sinking to Tier 2 status in chip technology, it is all the more vital that Europe's one and only absolutely undisputed centres of microelectronics excellence should have its plans backed by all those who play any part in European microelectronics " and high technology.