The European Commission has recommended that EU countries should cooperate together to deal with cybersecurity issues especially in connection with 5G networks. The Commission did not suggest a ban on Huawei products for which the US has been pushing.
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US has been pushing to drop Huawei from EU networks
The US pressure was discussed in a recent Digital Journal article: "The US upped pressure on Europe Wednesday to avoid turning to Huawei for 5G telecom infrastructure, with a top commander saying NATO forces would cease communicating with their German colleagues if Berlin teams up with the Chinese firm." Another recent Digital Journal article discusses in detail, with competing views, the issue of Huawei as a security threat and how the risk can be handled.
Exclusion of companies from 5G left to individual countries
The Commission's report suggests merely that the various EU countries carry out their own risk assessments and these would then be used to form an EU-wide assessment. However, the decision whether to exclude Huawei or others on national security grounds would be left to each country.
The US has already branded Huawei as a potential security threat claiming the company could be used by the Chinese government for espionage. It has already banned Huawei equipment from being used by the federal government. This has led to Huawei filing a lawsuit against the US government.
The Commission report puts a new obstacle in the way of the US campaign. Huawei has pointed out that the US has not produced any hard evidence of any wrongdoing by the country. The company by the way is not owned by the Chinese state but in a complex way by its workers.
Commission vice president statement
The vice president of the commission, Andrus Ansip said: ”5G technology will transform our economy and society and open massive opportunities for people and businesses. But we cannot accept this happening without full security built in It is therefore essential that 5G infrastructures in the EU are resilient and fully secure from technical or legal backdoors.”
The European Commission
Wikipedia describes the European Commission as follows: "The European Commission (EC) is an institution of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the EU treaties and managing the day-to-day business of the EU.[2] Commissioners swear an oath at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg City, pledging to respect the treaties and to be completely independent in carrying out their duties during their mandate.[3] Unlike in the Council of the European Union, where members are directly and indirectly elected, and the European Parliament, where members are directly elected, the Commissioners are proposed by the Council of the European Union, on the basis of suggestions made by the national governments, and then appointed by the European Council after the approval of the European Parliament."
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