EU Wants to Ban all Huawei and ZTE networks
The European Commission is preparing to tighten rules that would effectively push Huawei and ZTE equipment out of critical telecom infrastructure across the bloc.
Under a proposal advanced by Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, recommendations from the EU’s 2020 5G cybersecurity toolbox would be converted into binding law. The move would extend countermeasures beyond mobile networks, potentially covering fixed broadband and fibre infrastructures as well.
The proposal arrives against a backdrop of divergent national policies. Several EU and allied countries have already moved to exclude Chinese vendors from next-generation networks: Sweden banned Huawei and ZTE from its 5G networks in 2020; the United Kingdom enacted an immediate halt to new Huawei 5G installations in October 2022 and ordered removal of existing kit by 2027; and Germany plans to strip Huawei from core 5G systems by 2026.
UK officials have justified removal on supply-chain grounds, arguing that US sanctions on Huawei have so degraded its supply chain that the security of the company’s products “can no longer be managed.” Former UK digital minister Michelle Donelan underscored the stakes: secure phone and internet networks are essential to everyday life and the wider economy.
Not all member states have taken identical paths. Italy and Spain continue to allow some Chinese suppliers to operate, though Italy reviews individual contracts with Chinese firms on a case-by-case basis. Slovenia even voted down legislation that would have barred so-called “high-risk” vendors from its networks.
Western suppliers such as Nokia and Ericsson have struggled to match the price points of Chinese rivals, a gap some trace back to state subsidies or other forms of support to China’s telecom champions. That economic competition, coupled with worries among policymakers about espionage and technological leverage, has driven debate about how to balance commercial choice with national security.
When launched in 2020, the EU’s 5G Cybersecurity Toolbox framed a menu of technical and strategic measures — from supplier restrictions and installation bans to supplier diversification — intended to boost network resilience. But the Commission’s recent proposal reflects renewed urgency and an effort to replace disparate national approaches with unified, legally enforceable rules across the Union.
