Overview
- Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen is exploring turning the EU’s 2020 high-risk vendor guidance into a legal mandate to phase out Huawei and ZTE.
- Member countries that fail to comply could face infringement procedures and financial penalties, according to people familiar with the private talks.
- The draft approach also considers limits on Chinese suppliers in fixed-line infrastructure and conditioning Global Gateway funding on avoiding Huawei in EU-backed projects.
- A commission spokesperson underscored the economic importance of 5G security while declining to confirm any ban, and China has previously rejected the high-risk designation.
- Nokia and Ericsson shares climbed after the report, reflecting expectations of market gains for European vendors if restrictions proceed.