EU Will Not Explicitly Name Huawei in Upcoming 5G Risk Rules
The European Union won’t ban Huawei Technologies Co. or other 5G equipment vendors when the bloc unveils guidelines for member states to mitigate security risks.
The EU will unveil a set of recommended measures that are “naturally strict and vigilant” at the end of January, European Digital Commissioner Thierry Breton said at a news conference in Paris on Monday. No companies will be explicitly excluded in the EU’s recommendations, he said.
U.S. officials have been urging the EU and its members to exclude the Chinese company from their networks. Washington argues Huawei poses a national security risk while Huawei and Chinese officials deny the accusations.
Last month, EU countries agreed to use only trustworthy parties for infrastructure that’s critical to national security, and pledged to consider the laws of a supplier’s home country before buying their products.
However, any decisions to ban companies for national security reasons rest with member states. Many telecom operators in various European countries have already struck deals with Huawei on 5G.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been criticized for her opposition of a ban on Huawei.
Chinese ambassador Wu Ken in December warned that a Huawei ban in the German market would result in “consequences” and cited German auto sales in the Asian giant’s market.
The U.K. government is also weighing Huawei’s role in developing the country’s networks.