The EU is considering a mandatory ban on member states using Chinese telecoms group Huawei’s equipment in their 5G networks, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing officials with knowledge of the discussions.
There are growing high-level concerns in Brussels that some EU nations are not taking enough action on the issue, deemed to present a security risk, the officials told the outlet.
The report cited EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton as telling the bloc’s telecoms ministers last week that only a third of the EU’s member states had banned Huawei from critical parts of the bloc’s 5G communications.
“This is too few. And it exposes the union’s collective security,” Breton reportedly said.
In 2020, EU members agreed certain recommendations to exclude high-risk vendors from technology investments ranging from certification requirements to diversification of suppliers. The agreement resulted from growing concern in the EU about its technological dependence on China.
Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have already banned the company from their 5G infrastructure, while Portugal is preparing to ban Huawei from some of its 5G equipment. Germany said earlier this year it was reviewing the use of Chinese components in its 5G infrastructure and whether a change of law was needed. Outside the EU, the UK has also barred the Chinese tech giant from its fifth-generation mobile network.
Meanwhile, Huawei has denied posing any danger, saying it opposes politicizing cyber security.
“Assessing cyber security risks without sticking to technological standards, or excluding specific suppliers from the system without proper technological evaluation, is a violation of the principles of fairness and non-discrimination, and also against the laws and regulations of the European Union and its member states,” the company stated.
“No court has ever found that Huawei had engaged in malicious intellectual property theft, or required Huawei to pay damages for infringement on others’ intellectual property,” the Chinese firm stressed.
The European Commission is scheduled to report next week on progress across the bloc in implementing the security recommendations.
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