Sections

ideals
Business Essentials for Professionals



Companies
21/01/2020

New 5G Guideline By The EU Will Not Recommend Huawei Ban




New 5G Guideline By The EU Will Not Recommend Huawei Ban
No companies – be it the Chinese tech giant Huawei or any other company selling 5G equipment, will be banned from participating in the 5G network development work within the European Union. This is likely to be the position of the block when it unveils its guidelines for its member states over the issue of addressing national security threats. 
 
European Digital Commissioner Thierry Breton said at a news conference in Paris on Monday that a set of recommended measures will be unveiled at the end of January and the measures are “naturally strict and vigilant”. He added that none of the companies related to vending of 5G equipment and technology will be explicitly banned in the guidelines.
 
A number of allied countries have been pressurized by the United States over the last one year to put a blanket ban on Huawei from participating in construction of 5G networks because of national security risks. Both Huawie and China have denied he US allegations.
 
The EU has been trying to set the approach that its individual member states should take with respect to 5G network construction so that they the European countries individually can avoid any form of possible retaliation from the US and China.
 
An agreement on making use of only those vendors who are trustworthy for construction of infrastructure that is critical to national security was taken by the EU countries last month. The member states also will give close consideration to the laws of the home country of a vendor before deciding to use their 5G products.
 
However, there are some restrictions on how much the EU can dictate to its member states on this issue. It is the prerogative of the individual member countries to decide on putting a ban on companies over threats to national security and deals with Huawei have already been reached on 5G by many operators in various European countries.
 
The issue of whether to ban Huawei from in its 5G roll-out has pitted the EU smack in between two major world powers - China and the US.
 
Enraging China is sought to be avoided by many European countries because it is a huge trading partner. On the other hand, the US is one of the oldest security allies of European countries. The US has already threatened to review its intelligence sharing mechanism with countries that allow Huawei to participate in the 5G network roll out.
 
There can be “consequence” of a Huawei ban in the German market, Chinese ambassador Wu Ken warned in December, and had pointed out to the sale of German cars in China – the world’s largest auto market. The comments were made while intense pressure from hardliners inside her governing coalition is being faced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel who has openly stated her opposition to impose a complete ban on Huawei.
 
Huawei’s role in developing the country’s networks is also being reviewed by the United Kingdom. The UK would keep Huawei out of critical national infrastructure, the country’s Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan has said in January.

(Source:www.scmp.com)

Christopher J. Mitchell

Markets | Companies | M&A | Innovation | People | Management | Lifestyle | World | Misc