Breton also warns German companies to stop working with Huawei and ZTE.
(Photo: Agencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERS)
Brussels The EU Commission has announced that it intends to cut business relationships with the Chinese telecommunications equipment suppliers Huawei and ZTE. The move, announced by Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton on Thursday, increases the pressure on Germany and other EU countries to continue allowing large parts of their mobile networks to be equipped with Chinese components.
Breton left no doubt that he was dissatisfied with the implementation of the EU Commission’s safety recommendations to date. “I can only stress the importance of expediting decisions about replacing high-risk carriers from their 5G networks,” Breton said at a news conference. “I have also reminded affected telecom operators that it is time to get this issue under control.”
With his remark, Breton alluded to a meeting with the bosses of the European telecommunications companies last week. Breton had sharply criticized the relationships of companies such as Vodafone, Telefónica and Deutsche Telekom with Chinese companies, as reported by the Handelsblatt. The Commission is aware that some companies continue to rely on untrustworthy suppliers – contrary to EU objectives. That has to change, the Commissioner warns.
Companies are currently expanding the new 5G networks across Europe, which can transport large amounts of data quickly and reliably. Vodafone, Telefónica and Deutsche Telekom continue to rely on Huawei. In Germany, Huawei’s share in the Telekom network is estimated at almost 60 percent.
The mobile network is considered a critical infrastructure and will become even more important in the future: it is considered possible that in the future, self-driving cars will roll on the streets or energy networks will be controlled with the help of 5G.
Security experts warn against cooperation with Huawei and ZTE
Breton fears that network operators will create facts by using Chinese components. That’s why he urges everyone to hurry – and names names for the first time. So far, the Commission had only spoken in vague terms of high-risk providers in its security recommendations, the so-called 5G toolbox. On Thursday, Breton said: “The Commission will apply the principles of the 5G toolbox to its own procurement policy in order to avoid risks from Huawei and ZTE.” This could mean that the Commission will not enter into any more contracts with Vodafone or Deutsche Telekom in the future .
The EU has managed to reduce dependencies in the energy sector in record time, the Commissioner continued. Action must now be taken with similar urgency in mobile communications: “We cannot afford that critical dependencies remain that could become a ‘weapon’ against our interests,” said Breton, speaking of a “risk to our common security”. . He called on all EU member states and telecom operators to “immediately take the necessary measures”.
Security experts have been warning for years that Huawei and ZTE, like all Chinese companies, are subject to the security laws of the People’s Republic and are therefore forced to cooperate with the Chinese authorities. This could result in risks for the operation of the mobile phone networks. In the event of a conflict, Germany and other EU states could be open to blackmail – just as they were after the start of the Ukraine war because of their dependence on Russian gas.
“The Commission sent a very strong signal today,” says industry analyst John Strand. “If carriers think they can continue their relationship with Huawei as before, they are hopelessly naïve.”
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