Hungary sees no security risk from Huawei as it sets out to build its 5G network

Hungary does not see any evidence that Chinese tech giant Huawei poses a security threat as alleged by Washington, according to the country’s Innovation and Technology Minister.

“We have taken a rather pragmatic stance, the same, in fact, as Germany. It has not been proven that Huawei’s technology would pose any risk to Hungary, as we have seen no [data] to support that,” Minister Laszlo Palkovics told Reuters commenting on accusations against Huawei.

He added that until there is evidence that the Chinese tech firm could be dangerous for people in NATO or EU states, Budapest “will handle Huawei’s technology as any other technology.”

The statement comes amid continued US attempts to push its allies across the Atlantic to turn away from Huawei technology and equipment, and especially the rollout of 5G networks in collaboration with the company.

Spain has recently embraced the technology, becoming the third European country after the UK and Switzerland to commercialize 5G, ignoring US calls. Last week, UK-based telecom operator Vodafone launched a 5G network there, using equipment from both Huawei and Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson.

Hungary wants to accelerate the roll-out of the high-speed network and its government plans to discuss the matter with telecoms companies, the country’s Innovation and Technology minister said.

Germany was also reluctant to restrict Huawei technology, despite pressure from Washington. The Chinese company provides essential hardware such as antennas and routers for telecom carriers competing for 5G-ready airwaves to roll out the mobile network across Germany. In April, Berlin said that neither Huawei or any other equipment supplier would be banned from the 5G rollout. Before that, Chancellor Angela Merkel had said she does not want to single out any vendor from 5G contracts.

The US alleges that Huawei could be spying for the Chinese government, a claim which the company strongly denies. In its crackdown against the tech giant, Washington barred it from doing business with US tech companies, putting Huawei’s products at risk as many of them rely on US-developed software and parts.

However, the company was quick to announce the launch of its own operating system (OS) –called “Hongmeng”– to replace Google’s Android OS, and is believed to have accelerated the production of its own phone chips.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section