EU cybersecurity report says members can ban firms from 5G networks – but declines to name China or Huawei
- Commission identifies ‘state-backed’ actors from outside EU as major security threat but declines to ‘jump to a conclusion’ about Chinese tech giant
- Report echoes Washington’s warnings about Huawei by warning there is a risk products will have ‘back doors’ inserted into them
The European Union’s latest 5G risk assessment report has said member countries can exclude certain companies for national security reasons – but it shied away from naming China or Huawei directly.
Without referring to any country or company, the European Commission identified “state-backed” actors from “non-EU states” as the biggest threat for attacks on fifth-generation mobile technology infrastructure in Wednesday’s report.
It also warned against over-reliance on a single supplier – as well as highlighting the possibility of back doors that are hard to detect – in an echo of US warnings about Huawei.
“I understand the temptation of jumping to a conclusion. We are deliberately not jumping to a conclusion,” Julian King, EU commissioner for security, said in a press conference in Brussels in response to queries why he did not name China or Huawei. “National decisions are for member states to take.”
The report said EU member states have the right to exclude companies from their markets for national security reasons “if they do not comply with the country’s standards and legal framework”.
In response, Huawei said it welcomed the EU risk assessment.