The European Commission is looking at ways to make EU states phase out Huawei and ZTE from their telecom networks. A 2020 recommendation to avoid high-risk suppliers could become binding law, with possible penalties for countries that do not follow the security guidelines. The EU is also considering limits on Chinese equipment in fixed networks and may deny Global Gateway funding to projects that use Huawei technology.
Several European countries already treat Huawei differently. The UK and Sweden have banned the company, while Spain and Greece still allow Chinese suppliers. Germany and Finland are weighing stricter rules, and China has criticized the “high-risk” label as unfair.
The discussions around the ban comes after China has phased out and strained Nordic companies Ericsson and Nokia access to the Chinese marked.
News of a possible EU clampdown boosted Nordic competitors on the stock market. Shares in Finland’s Nokia rose by more than 5%, while Sweden’s Ericsson gained nearly 4%, as investors bet that European operators may buy more equipment from non-Chinese vendors.
