What just happened? In a speech last week, European commissioner Thierry Breton described Chinese telecommunication equipment manufacturers Huawei and ZTE as 'high-risk vendors' and once again called on member states to ban them throughout the European Union. According to Breton, countries that have already sidelined the two Chinese vendors are entirely justified in their decision, and others need to follow in their footsteps to get them out of the EU's 5G network for good.

Brenton also lamented that despite the EU guidelines that call on its 27 member states to bar 'high-risk' vendors from supplying 5G equipment in their countries, only 10 of them have put that plan into practice. According to him, the inaction on the part of the majority of EU member states poses a major security risk to the entire block and its citizens, and "exposes the Union's collective security, since it creates a major dependency for the EU and serious vulnerabilities."

Brenton's scathing assessment of the Chinese vendors came after the European Commission updated its Toolbox on 5G Cybersecurity implementation report that was originally published in 2020, and required member states to ban high-risk vendors from supplying equipment in these countries. While the original report did not mention any high-risk vendor by name, the updated version points the finger squarely at the two Chinese telecom giants.

While Huawei and ZTE are not yet technically banned from all EU states, most of the 27 nations in the union are moving in that direction . At least 21 out of the 27 member states have already adopted a legislative framework for risk assessment, while three other countries are in the process of passing laws to that effect.

With the legislation in place, most of these countries will be able to ban specific vendors from supplying 5G equipment or remove equipment that has already been deployed. However, not all EU nations are seemingly on the same page on banning Huawei and ZTE from their countries' 5G networks, as three countries have yet to take any action against the two vendors.

Thanks to the worsening diplomatic relationship between Beijing and Washington, Huawei and ZTE have already been banned from supplying 5G equipment in the U.S. and the U.K., while India also barred the two vendors from participating in the country's 5G spectrum auctions a few years ago, citing national security concerns.

On their part, the two companies have always maintained their innocence, and claimed that their equipment has never been used for spying by the Chinese government. However, national security agencies in the West remain unconvinced, meaning the companies have largely been cut off from lucrative 5G deals around the world.