Top EU official urges more countries to ban China’s Huawei, ZTE from 5G networks
Huawei is back in the spotlight in Europe after a report suggested Germany may ban some equipment from the Chinese telecommunications giant in its 5G network.
Pau Barrena | AFP | Getty Images
A top European Union official has called on more EU countries to ban Chinese telecommunications firms Huawei and ZTE from their 5G networks, ramping up tensions with Beijing.
Thierry Breton, EU commissioner for internal market, said he wants more member states to remove “high-risk” suppliers such as Huawei and ZTE from their mobile internet infrastructure upgrades, citing national security risks.
In January 2020, the EU adopted a “5G cybersecurity toolbox” aimed at identifying the risks of accepting certain providers of 5G infrastructure into its rollout. That came as several countries, including the U.K., were deciding to ban Huawei over security fears.
“We will continue to work with determination with the Member States that are lagging behind and the telecommunications operators,” Breton said in a Thursday speech.
“I can only emphasize the importance of speeding up decisions to replace high-risk suppliers from their 5G networks. I have also reminded the telecoms operators concerned that it is time to get to grips with this issue.”
To date, only 10 EU countries have restricted or banned Huawei from their 5G networks, Breton said.
“For our part, the Commission will implement the 5G toolbox principles to its own procurement of telecoms services, to avoid exposure to Huawei and ZTE,” Breton said.
China subsequently said that it firmly opposes some EU countries’ ban on Huawei, and that the Commission has no legal basis to prohibit the firm, according to Reuters, which cited a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.
Breton’s comments follow news that Germany is considering whether to ban Huawei and ZTE from its 5G network because of alleged national security risks. In response, China’s embassy in Germany said it was “puzzled and strongly dissatisfied” by the reports.
Huawei and ZTE did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.
The U.S. and its allies, including the U.K. and Australia, have barred Huawei from operating in their 5G networks.
Washington officials allege that Huawei and ZTE technology could be used by Beijing for espionage Both companies and Beijing have denied the allegations.
The EU has previously described China as a “partner,” “economic competitor,” and “systemic rival.”
However, more recently, it has leant towards the “system rival” part of that, seeking to keep China close as a partner while also staying wary of its growing influence in development of critical technologies.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission’s president, said in a speech earlier this year that she thinks the bloc should reevaluate its ties with Beijing — though she said it was not in the EU’s best interests to “decouple” from China. Instead, she said, it should look to “de-risk” its relationship with China.
Operators have struggled to replace Huawei as the provider of infrastructure in their mobile networks. Industry executives say Huawei’s technology is often cheaper and more advanced than that offered by rivals such as Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung.
Firefly’s CEO Jason Kim reacts during the company’s IPO at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City, U.S., August 7, 2025.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
Last week’s liftoff also coincided with President Donald Trump‘s “space superiority” executive order, signed on Friday, that aims to create a permanent U.S. base on the moon.
Investors have also gained more clarity on the future of NASA following a whirlwind drama since Trump won the election.
Last week, the Senate confirmed Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator more than a year after he was first nominated to the position.
Trump withdrew the nomination from the Elon Musk ally earlier this year amid a public fallout, but renominated Isaacman in November.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was tapped to temporarily run the space agency in the interim.
Google parent Alphabet on Monday announced it will acquire Intersect, a data center and energy infrastructure company, for $4.75 billion in cash in addition to the assumption of debt.
Alphabet said Intersect’s operations will remain independent, but that the acquisition will help bring more data center and generation capacity online faster.
In recent years, Google has been embroiled in a fierce competition with artificial intelligence rivals, namely OpenAI, which kick-started the generative AI boom with the launch of its ChatGPT chatbot in 2022. OpenAI has made more than $1.4 trillion of infrastructure commitments to build out the data centers it needs to meet growing demand for its technology.
With its acquisition of Intersect, Google is looking to keep up.
“Intersect will help us expand capacity, operate more nimbly in building new power generation in lockstep with new data center load, and reimagine energy solutions to drive US innovation and leadership,” Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said in a statement.
Google already had a minority stake in Intersect from a funding round that was announced last December. In a release at the time, Intersect said its strategic partnership with Google and TPG Rise Climate aimed to develop gigawatts of data center capacity across the U.S., including a $20 billion investment in renewable power infrastructure by the end of the decade.
Alphabet said Monday that Intersect will work closely with Google’s technical infrastructure team, including on the companies’ co-located power site and data center in Haskell County, Texas. Google previously announced a $40 billion investment in Texas through 2027, which includes new data center campuses in the state’s Haskell and Armstrong counties.
Intersect’s operating and in-development assets in California and its existing operating assets in Texas are not part of the acquisition, Alphabet said. Intersect’s existing investors including TPG Rise Climate, Climate Adaptive Infrastructure and Greenbelt Capital Partners will support those assets, and they will continue to operate as an independent company.
Alphabet’s acquisition of Intersect is expected to close in the first half of 2026, but it is still subject to customary closing conditions.
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