EU industry chief Thierry Breton dismisses fears of 5G delays due to strict security rules
- Breton dismissed claims that relying on European companies to build a 5G network would delay its roll-out
- He warned policymakers that 5G will require more stringent security rules than previous generations
European industrial policy chief Thierry Breton dismissed claims that relying on European companies to build a 5G network would delay its roll-out, weighing in on an increasingly tense debate in Germany over the risk posed by China’s Huawei.
In a speech at the Digital Life Design (DLD) conference in Munich on Sunday, Breton, a former French finance minister, warned policymakers in Germany and elsewhere that the new 5G technology will require more stringent security rules than previous generations.
“Setting up strict security conditions will not create delays in the roll out of 5G in Europe,” Breton said, sticking to the line contained in prepared remarks obtained by Reuters in advance.
“Europe, including Germany of course, is on track. We are not, and won’t be, late in Europe on the deployment of 5G.”
The warning by Breton contrasts with comments by German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer who said earlier this week that if Chinese companies were excluded, the construction of the 5G network would be postponed for at least five to 10 years.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives are divided over whether to support a proposal by their Social Democrat junior coalition partners that, if approved, would effectively shut out the Chinese technology giant from the network.