ASML: Zero European sales in 2026, urges EU action
Original: ASML says it sold 'absolutely nothing' in Europe in 2026
Why This Matters
ASML's disclosure exposes a core weakness in EU semiconductor strategy: building fabs without building demand.
ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet revealed the Dutch lithography giant sold 'absolutely nothing' in Europe in 2026, calling on the EU to actively generate domestic semiconductor demand rather than relying solely on supply-side industrial policy.
ASML, the world's sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, has disclosed a striking gap between its global dominance and its European sales performance: zero revenue from European customers in 2026. CEO Christophe Fouquet made the admission publicly, using it as a pointed argument for the EU to shift its semiconductor strategy. While Brussels has invested heavily in supply-side initiatives — most notably the EU Chips Act, which targets 20% of global chip production by 2030 — ASML's position is that without matching demand-side measures, European fabs have little commercial incentive to buy. ASML's machines are among the most expensive and strategically significant in chipmaking; a single EUV system costs roughly $200 million or more. The company's customers are overwhelmingly in Asia and the United States — TSMC, Samsung, Intel, and SK Hynix among them. Fouquet's comments amount to a rare public rebuke from a flagship European tech company, arguing that industrial ambition without a viable customer base is insufficient. The EU Chips Act has faced criticism for slow progress and for prioritizing legacy nodes over leading-edge production. ASML's zero-sales figure crystallizes the demand void that supply-side policy alone cannot fill.