Germany and Spain push back on Brussels' plans to ban Huawei gear bloc-wide

Germany and Spain oppose the European Commission’s push for binding legislation that would ban Huawei and ZTE equipment across EU telecom networks. They argue that decisions on high-risk vendors should remain under national control rather than be imposed at the bloc level. They warn that an EU-wide ban could trigger retaliation from Beijing and increase the cost of building artificial-intelligence infrastructure. The Commission has been working to convert a long-standing recommendation against Chinese telecom suppliers into binding law. A new formal recommendation urges excluding Huawei and ZTE from the 5G core and broader connectivity stack. Germany’s national phase-out plan targets removal of critical components from cores by end-2026 and broader radio-access-network removal by end-2029.

"Berlin and Madrid are resisting the European Commission's push for binding legislation on Huawei and ZTE, citing Beijing-retaliation risk and the cost of AI-infrastructure build-out. Germany and Spain are leading opposition inside the European Council to the European Commission's draft plan to ban Huawei and ZTE equipment from EU telecom networks at the bloc level."

"The two member states want decisions about high-risk vendors to remain under national-level control, and have warned that an EU-wide ban would invite retaliation from Beijing and inflate the cost of the artificial-intelligence infrastructure build-out the bloc has spent the past 18 months trying to accelerate."

"In early May it issued a fresh formal recommendation, broader in scope than the original 2020 version, urging member states to exclude Huawei and ZTE not only from 5G core networks but from the wider connectivity stack. In January, Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen unveiled a cybersecurity package that would, on current drafts, force the removal of designated high-risk-supplier components from key network infrastructure within 36 months of the rules taking effect."

"Huawei equipment was still installed in roughly 60% of German 5G radio sites as recently as late 2024. Germany has its own national phase-out plan, agreed with Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica Deutschland, requiring critical-component removal from cores by end-2026 and broader radio-access-network removal by end-2029. That domestic timetable is, in Berlin's view, the relevant framework."

Read at TNW | Eu