Already subject to an embargo by the United States since 2019, Huawei could be banned from the European Union. According to the Financial Times, Brussels would consider banning the use by its member states of suppliers presenting a risk to the security of their 5G infrastructures, the Chinese equipment manufacturer appearing in this blacklist.
With this decision, the European Commission would force the hand of countries still reluctant to ban Huawei equipment from their mobile communications networks. Only a third of the States have made this choice, such as Denmark, Sweden, the Baltic countries or, on the borders of Europe, the United Kingdom.
The recommendations issued by Brussels in 2020 and approved unanimously by the Member States, went, recalls FT, “from certification requirements to the diversification of suppliers”. With this total ban, the Commission would go a step further by orchestrating a coordinated ban on the scale of the Old Continent.
A spy in the pay of Beijing?
Huawei, but also other Chinese equipment manufacturers such as ZTE, are regularly accused of serving as a transmission belt for Beijing’s intelligence services. Their hardware and software would include “backdoors”. Huawei and the Chinese government have always rejected these accusations, considering that they serve the cause of competing technologies.
During the Telecoms Council on June 2 in Luxembourg, Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, reportedly warned the 27 European telecommunications ministers present about this high risk exposure. He would have them recall the urgency of acting to avoid creating major vulnerabilities that would be difficult to reverse. »
Just as the EU has achieved in the field of energy in the geopolitical context of the war in Ukraine, it must, according to him, do the same for 5G networks. ” NOTWe cannot afford to maintain critical dependencies that could become a weapon against our interests”.
Huawei took advantage of the arrival of 5G to consolidate its position. Beyond the attractive prices offered by the Chinese equipment manufacturer, its technology is generally recognized as more efficient and innovative by telecom experts, compared to its European rivals, the Finnish Nokia or the Swedish Ericsson. Huawei recalls, for its part, that it is the first depositary with the European Patent Office.
No formal ban from France
However, the clouds are gathering over his head in the context of tension with China. Washington has accused Huawei of being a criminal enterprise that has stolen from American companies, violated sanctions against North Korea and made false statements to the FBI, recalls FT.
Closer to home, Germany is reportedly considering ordering its telecom operators to remove equipment supplied by Huawei and ZTE from their 5G networks, according to The echoes. For its part, Portugal has just closed access to its 5G networks to suppliers not from the European Union, NATO or the OECD.
France has adopted a less trenchant approach. Since the so-called “anti Huawei” law of August 1, 2019, our country does not explicitly prohibit the equipment of the Chinese specialist but conditions its deployment to a particularly restrictive operating authorization issued by Anssi.
In fact, this tacit ban has led operators to dismantle Huawei installations from their networks. According The Informed, Bouygues Telecom and SFR are forced to dismantle 3,000 and 8,000 of the manufacturer’s antennas respectively. This represents a significant additional cost. The two operators have seized the Paris administrative court and are asking the State for “compensation of several hundred million euros”.
At the next edition of Vivatech, Huawei will celebrate its 20 years of presence in France. The opportunity for the equipment manufacturer to recall its weight in our country. ” A job at Huawei France generates 5.3 additional jobs in the rest of the economy “, he assesses in a file. The Chinese group has notably created five R&D centers on our territory. In total, its footprint on the French economy would represent “1 billion euros in added value and nearly 10,000 jobs. »
A cleaver that would not fall before 2024
Quoted by the FT, Huawei says it is opposed to any politicization in the evaluation of suppliers. ” Assessing cybersecurity risks without adhering to technology standards, or excluding specific vendors from the market without proper technology assessment, is a violation of the principles of fairness and non-discrimination, as well as of the laws and regulations of the European Union and its member states. »
The equipment supplier should have a little respite to prepare its defense. According to the FT, “ New rules imposing a ban are unlikely to come before the end of the five-year term of the current European Commission in 2024, given the time needed to gain the support of the European Parliament and member states for any new laws. »
Photo credit: Huawei