EU demands scrutiny of 5G risks but no bloc-wide Huawei ban

Lluis Gene | AFP | Getty Images

Visitors pass in front of the Huawei’s stand on the first day of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelonaon on February 27, 2017 in Barcelona.

EU nations will be required to share data on 5G cybersecurity risks and produce measures to tackle them by the end of the year, the European Commission said on Tuesday, shunning U.S. calls to ban China’s Huawei Technologies across the bloc.

The aim is to use tools available under existing security rules plus cross-border cooperation, the bloc’s executive body said, leaving it to individual EU countries to decide whether they want to ban any company on national security grounds.

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Portugal are all preparing to auction 5G licenses this year while six other countries will do so next year.

The European Union move came despite U.S. pressure to boycott Huawei, citing fears of China using the company’s equipment for espionage. Huawei has strongly rejected the allegations and launched a lawsuit against the U.S. government.

The EU provided additional detail on the plans first reported by Reuters on March 22, with European digital chief Andrus Ansip saying that the measures announced on Tuesday aimed to address concerns about foreign governments using companies for espionage.

Last week French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe was wakening up to potential Chinese dominance in the region.