READ OUR LATEST NEWSLETTER – As we reach the midpoint of 2026, we are pleased to reconnect with our readers, partners and friends by sharing an overview of the European Institute for Asian Studies’ activities over the past six months. While this edition marks our first newsletter since the end of 2025, it reflects a period of sustained engagement, new partnerships and continued research across Europe and Asia.
From Polish tanks to Czech nuclear reactors and battery factories across Central Europe, South Korean companies are becoming increasingly visible across the European Union. These developments are more than isolated economic projects. They reflect a broader shift in EU–South Korea relations, which are gradually expanding from trade into security, energy and technology cooperation. As global politics become more uncertain, the partnership between Brussels and Seoul may be entering a new and more strategic phase.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which produces the most advanced chips in the world, is positioning itself in a strategic position in the global economy. On one hand, the geopolitical tensions and domestic resource constraints are pushing TSMC to diversify manufacturing overseas. On the other, the European Union seeks to attract investment through the European Chips Act to reduce dependence on external suppliers. It has resulted in the EU–TSMC joint venture “European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC)”, a pilot initiative to assess whether TSMC’s efficient production model can be adopted to Europe. Although the European Chips Act provides subsidies, it fails to address the underlying structural barrier. The sustained EU–TSMC semiconductor ecosystem cannot be built with financial support alone, but requires comprehensive reforms to address regulatory fragmentation across the EU’s single market and knowledge transfer through TSMC’s production and management model. Therefore, to strengthen EU–TSMC cooperation, prioritising regulatory simplification, reducing administrative fragmentation and establishing an exchange and training scheme that facilitates efficiency and training programmes that support operational learning from TSMC’s business model.
