The European Commission is exploring ways to force European Union member states to gradually remove equipment from Huawei and ZTE from their telecommunications networks, according to people familiar with the matter.
The European Commission is exploring ways to force European Union member states to gradually remove equipment from Huawei and ZTE from their telecommunications networks, according to people familiar with the matter.
According to Bloomberg, Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen wants to turn the European Commission’s 2020 recommendation to stop using high-risk providers on mobile networks into a legal requirement.
While decisions on infrastructure are made by national governments, Virkkunen’s proposal would oblige EU countries to follow the commission’s safety recommendations. If the recommendations become legally binding, member states that fail to comply could face financial sanctions.
«The EU is increasingly paying attention to the risks posed by Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturers… There are concerns that transferring control of critical national infrastructure to companies with such close ties to Beijing could jeopardize national security interests,» the publication writes.
According to sources, the European Commission is also considering measures that would help wean non-EU countries from dependence on Chinese suppliers.
«The security of our 5G networks is crucial to our economy,» said commission spokesman Thomas Rainier, declining to comment on the potential ban.
China’s Foreign Ministry has previously criticized the EU’s characterization of Huawei and ZTE as high-risk suppliers, deeming it to have no legal or factual basis.
Meanwhile, as dev.ua wrote, Huawei and Nokia received permission from the National Commission for the Evaluation of Electronic Communications this year to test 5G in three cities of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, back in 2023, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton called on more EU countries to ban Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE from accessing their 5G networks.
