Brussels has been raising its eyebrows for a long time when looking at the place that certain Chinese equipment manufacturers still occupy in European 5G networks. Too long, even, according to the European Commission. After banking on the goodwill of Member States, the European executive is now preparing to change register: the recommendations will give way to binding rules, with Huawei and ZTE clearly targeted.
Nerves on edge among operators
« I am not satisfied with the way Member States have applied the 5G Toolbox », bluntly recognizes Henna Virkkunen, vice-president of the European Commission in charge of technological and security issues. Translation: too many countries have dragged their feet, and too much equipment considered to be at risk is still installed at the heart of the networks.
It all starts in 2020, with the famous “5G Toolbox”. At the time, the European Union called on its member states to reduce their dependence on suppliers deemed sensitive, without ever mentioning names – and above all without imposing anything. Predictable result: some countries are moving cautiously, others prefer not to rush anything, often for fear of commercial reprisals from Beijing.
In 2023, former European Commissioner Thierry Breton had already tried to put some pressure back on by asserting that Huawei and ZTE presented “ higher material risks » than their competitors. Here again, the impact remained limited. This time, the Commission wants to set the rule in European legal stone. The draft Cybersecurity Act will not simply recycle old recommendations: it must clearly establish that suppliers classified as “high risk” have no place in the critical infrastructures of 5G networks. In other words, the choice would no longer be left to capitals.
The text is not limited to telecoms. It also targets other sensitive sectors (energy, transport, security equipment, connected vehicles) even if, for the moment, only the area of mobile networks is sufficiently marked out for rapid application.
But this firmness comes at a cost. The Commission provides for a three-year transition period to allow operators to gradually replace the equipment concerned. The bill is estimated between 3 and 4 billion euros. Enough to fuel the discontent of operators, who regularly point out that Huawei’s solutions are often less expensive than those of their Western rivals.
On the political level, the matter is just as delicate. Several member states take a dim view of this rise in power from Brussels on subjects that they consider to be relevant to national security. The negotiations in the European Parliament and the Council therefore promise to be lively.
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