The European Union (EU) is contemplating a compulsory ban on member-states using 5G vendors that pose security risks, including Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from China, as per the Financial Times report on Tuesday.
In 2020, the EU stated that member-states could either restrict or exclude high-risk 5G vendors like Huawei from the core parts of their telecoms networks. At that time, the EU resisted pressure from Washington to completely ban Chinese telcos.
During a meeting last Friday, EU’s internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, informed telecoms ministers that only one-third of EU countries had implemented Huawei bans in critical areas, according to the report.
Since the guidance fell short of a ban in 2020, the EU may introduce a mandatory ban on companies considered to be security risks if member-states, such as Germany, continue to delay, added the newspaper.
In March, a government source told Reuters that Germany has been contemplating banning specific components from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE (000063.SZ) in its telecoms network, which could be a significant step to address security concerns.
