ASML says it sold 'absolutely nothing' in Europe in 2026

Five Prevalent Themes in the Hacker News Discussion

1. Europe's semiconductor industry lags due to regulatory hurdles and lack of coordinated industrial policy
   Commenters repeatedly cite Europe's inability to attract advanced chip fabrication as stemming from bureaucratic fragmentation and insufficient state support, contrasting it with successful models in Taiwan, Ireland, or the US CHIPS Act.

   "Europe is not investing and because no chip factories are being built there" – itopaloglu83
   "The issue is with policymaking - coordination between the EU, national, and local governments is weak so high capex projects become risky" – alephnerd
   "Europe is increasingly relying on the rest of the world to supply it with critical things. It’s FAFOed with regulations that have driven these things elsewhere" – cmiles8

2. Germany's nuclear phaseout is viewed as influenced by Russian interests
   A significant subthread argues that political decisions to abandon nuclear power (particularly under Schröder) were driven by Russian gas dependency, framing it as a strategic vulnerability.

   "Gerhard Schröder, chancellor 1998-2005, is well known to be best buddies with Putin and later (three weeks after leaving office!) worked for Gazprom. He is nicknamed 'Gas-Gerd'" – ahartmetz
   "Tinfoil hat, I know, but I'm convinced that Germany hating nuclear power was a Russian influence operation" – ekjhgkejhgk
   "It was already decided in 1998 to phase out nuclear power under the SPD–Green coalition. They passed the Nuclear Exit Law in 2002. It’s mostly the Green Party’s fault" – ExpertAdvisor01

3. Europe's response to the Ukraine war is criticized as inadequate or hypocritical
   Debates center on whether European nations have sacrificed enough domestically (e.g., welfare cuts, industrial mobilization) to support Ukraine, with some arguing economic self-interest outweighs moral or security commitments.

   "Europe has 15x the GDP of Russia. If they were 'hell bent' on militarily defeating Russia, they could have made even tiny sacrifices to the social welfare system... They did not in fact, dedicate themselves to this war" – bpodgursky
   "We already did that. Welfare and funding to social services... is significantly reduced... we're also paying the price in higher housing costs thanks to housing millions of Ukrainians" – PorciiVorbesc
   "EU leaders absolutely refused to talk with Russia/Putin on putting an end to the war and they were hell bent on militarily defeating Russia" – sajithdilshan

4. Migration is framed as an economic necessity for aging populations, not just humanitarian duty
   Contributors argue that low birth rates and unsustainable pension systems make migrant labor essential for maintaining Europe's workforce and social safety nets, rejecting purely cultural or nationalist objections.

   "Individually, you have to accept migrants if your personal demographic is below the replacement rate. Otherwise you will never retire, and your kids... will work in a nursing economy at minimum wage" – bigyabai
   "You need money. You can get money in many many ways. The best way... is for the state to enrich themselves from the work of others, non citizens, and give that money to citizens" – Rumple22Stilk (countering the necessity view)
   "Europe needed to figure out it's defense plan yesterday... If Europe won't ally with migrants, then maintaining European sovereignty is nearly impossible" – bigyabai

5. Europe's economic competitiveness suffers from risk-averse culture and over-regulation
   Beyond semiconductors, a broader theme emerges that EU norms—prioritizing stability, worker protections, and environmental caution—discourage high-risk industrial investment and innovation compared to the US or Asia.

   "Slow moving regulation literally incentivises high capex long-horizon investment" – upupupandaway (questioning the premise)
   "If employees are hard to fire, then companies hesitate to hire them... Protectionism is a double-edged sword" – jiggawatts
   "Life cycle of the fab is 3-5 years, an optimistic estimate of slow down in europe due to all the paper work is 2-3 years, so then you would rather not build the plant" – whateverboat