@article{rohde2023stmicroelectronics author = {Kerstin Rohde and Adrian Roseanu}, title = {STMicroelectronics and the Commission’s Communication ‘A Chips Act for Europe’}, journal = {European State Aid Law Quarterly}, volume = {22}, number = {1}, year = {2023}, keywords = {Chips Act Communication;compatibility assessment;limitation of discretion}, abstract = {On 8 February 2022, the Commission adopted the Communication ‘A Chips Act for Europe’. It announces the case-by-case assessment directly under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU for semiconductor cases and sums up principles for the compatibility assessment. On 5 October 2022, the Commission approved State aid for STMicroelectronics. It is the first Decision based on Article 107(3)(c) TFEU and the principles of the Chips Act Communication. State aid practitioners are divided on the nature of the Chips Act Communication. It appears like a deviation from the typical soft law instruments that were adopted since SAM. Against this background, this paper deals with the question whether the Chips Act Communication represents a departure from the Commission's practice for its compatibility assessment and therefore favours the semiconductor industry. In this regard, it will assess whether the announced case-by-case assessment directly under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU complies with the Commission’s practice and whether the Chips Act Communication due to its nature is directly applicable. It will then examine the existence of a rule of practice to comprehensively limit the Commission’s discretion by a detailed set of assessment criteria and the admissibility of sector-specific soft law. Keywords: Chips Act Communication; compatibility assessment; limitation of discretion}, url = {https://doi.org/10.21552/estal/2023/1/5} doi = {10.21552/estal/2023/1/5} }