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Huawei is back in the spotlight in Europe after a report suggested that Germany may ban some equipment from the Chinese telecoms giant in its 5G network.
Paw Barina | AFP | Getty Images
A senior EU official has called on more EU countries to ban Chinese telecoms companies Huawei and ZTE from their 5G networks, escalating tensions with Beijing.
Thierry Breton, the EU’s commissioner for the internal market, said he wanted more member states to remove “high-risk” suppliers such as Huawei and ZTE from mobile internet infrastructure upgrades, citing national security risks.
In January 2020, the European Union adopted a “5G Cybersecurity Toolkit” aimed at identifying the risks of certain providers accepting 5G infrastructure into its rollout. It came as many countries, including the UK, decided to ban Huawei due to security concerns.
“We will continue to work resolutely with lagging member states and telecom operators,” Breton said on Thursday. letter.
“I can only stress the importance of speeding up decisions to replace high-risk suppliers from their 5G networks. I also reminded the relevant telecom operators that now is the time to deal with this issue.”
So far, Breton said, only 10 countries in the European Union have restricted or banned Huawei from their 5G networks.
“For our part, the Commission will implement the principles of the 5G Toolkit for its own procurement of telecom services, to avoid exposure to Huawei and ZTE,” Breton said.
China later said it was firmly opposed to some European Union countries banning Huawei, and that the Commission had no legal basis to ban the company, according to Reuters, citing a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.
Bretton’s comments follow news that Germany is considering whether to ban Huawei and ZTE from its 5G network over alleged national security risks. In response, China’s embassy in Germany said it was “perplexed and deeply dissatisfied” with the reports.
Huawei and ZTE did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The United States and its allies, including the United Kingdom and Australia, have banned Huawei from operating in their 5G networks.
Officials in Washington allege that Huawei and ZTE technology could be used by Beijing for espionage. Both companies and Beijing have denied the allegations.
The EU has previously described China as a “partner”, “economic competitor” and “systemic competitor”.
Recently, however, it has leaned toward the “rival system” part of that, trying to keep China close as a partner while also remaining wary of its growing influence in the development of critical technologies.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said in a speech earlier this year that she believed the bloc should reassess its relations with Beijing — though she said it was not in the EU’s interest to “decouple” China. Instead, she said, it should seek to “de-risk” its relationship with China.
Operators have struggled to replace Huawei as the infrastructure provider in their mobile networks. Industry executives say Huawei’s technology is often cheaper and more advanced than that offered by competitors such as Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung.
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