On June 15, Thierry Breton urged more EU countries to join ten nations of the union which have restricted or banned the use of Huawei or ZTE 5G telecommunications equipment from their networks. What follows is Huawei’s response…

Huawei strongly opposes and disagrees with the comments made by representatives from the European Commission. This is clearly not based on a verified, transparent, objective and technical assessment of 5G networks.

Huawei understands the European Commission’s concern to protect cybersecurity within the EU. However, restrictions or exclusions based on discriminatory judgments will pose serious economic and social risks. It would hamper innovation and distort the EU market. An Oxford Economics report states that excluding Huawei could increase 5G investment costs by up to tens of billions of euros, and it will have to be paid by European consumers.

Publicly singling out an individual entity as ‘HRV’(High Risk Vendor) without legal basis is against principles of free trade. It is of paramount importance to emphasize that the discriminatory ‘HRV’ assessment shall not be applied to any vendor without justified procedure and adequate hearing. As an economic operator in the EU, Huawei holds procedural and substantial rights and should be protected under the EU and Member States’ laws as well as their international commitments.

Cybersecurity is Huawei’s top priority. Huawei has opened a Cyber Security Transparency Centre in Brussels. This centre is open to customers and independent third-party testing organizations. They are invited to perform fair, objective, and independent security tests and verifications according to industry recognized cyber security standards and best practices.

We remain committed to delivering globally certified and trusted products and services, connecting millions of Europeans.