After depending on that nice Mr Putin for its gas supplies, it appears that the Germans are rather worried that if something goes wrong in Taiwan or South Korea they could be left high and dry for chips.

The ministry said the money will be drawn from the Climate and Transformation Fund from 2024 onwards, adding that it could only fund individual projects after European Commission approval.

Ironically it involved giving Taiwanese outfit TSMC cash to invest in a semiconductor production facility in Germany which we would have thought defeats the purpose somewhat. There are some German chipmakers who could do with the cash.

Last month, Berlin agreed subsidies worth nearly 10 billion euros with the U.S. chipmaker Intel to build two facilities in the eastern city of Magdeburg.