EC Wants 5G Security Risks to be Assessed, But Does Not Ban Huawei

The European Commission (EC) this week set out its strategy to ensure the security of 5G networks across the European Union (EU), but ignored U.S. calls to ban Huawei equipment from next-generation mobile networks.The EC is recommending a set of actions that all member states should use to assess the cybersecurity risks of 5G networks. It stopped short of banning any suppliers outright, merely stating that 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.”The overall aim is to build a coordinated EU risk assessment that will ensure the security of key infrastructure, including 5G.The EC’s position could have been predicted based on Germany’s recent robust response to a perceived threat by the U.S. to limit intelligence sharing if Huawei was allowed to be part of Germany’s future 5G infrastructure. Germany has refused to explicitly ban Huawei from future network deployments, including 5G.