STRASBOURG (Reuters) - EU nations will be required to share data on 5G cybersecurity risks and produce measures to tackle them by the end of the year, the European Commission said on Tuesday, shunning U.S. calls to ban China’s Huawei Technologies across the bloc.
The aim is to use tools available under existing security rules plus cross-border cooperation, the bloc’s executive body said as it addressed issues surrounding expansion of the next-generation networks that are key to online connectivity between everything from vehicles to household devices.
The European Union move came despite U.S. pressure to boycott Huawei, citing fears of China using the company’s equipment for espionage. Huawei has strongly rejected the allegations and launched a lawsuit against the U.S. government.
The EU provided additional detail on the plans first reported by Reuters on March 22, with European digital chief Andrus Ansip saying that the measures announced on Tuesday aimed to address concerns about foreign governments using companies for espionage.
Last week French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe was wakening up to potential Chinese dominance in the region.
Ansip said that 5G technology would transform the economy and society, but that this cannot happen 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,” Ansip said in a statement.
EU countries have until the end of June to assess cybersecurity risks related to 5G, leading to an bloc-wide assessment by Oct. 1. Using this, EU countries would then have to agree measures to mitigate risks by the end of
