The European Union is considering the possibility of introducing a mandatory ban on the use of services of companies that may pose a security threat in 5G networks. We are talking, in particular, about the Chinese Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. This is reported by Reuters with reference to the Financial Times.

The move is said to be in response to growing concern in Brussels that some national governments are dragging their feet on the issue.

Last week, EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton informed telecoms ministers that only a third of EU countries had banned Huawei in critical areas.

In 2020, the EU said member states could either limit or exclude high-risk 5G providers such as Huawei from major parts of their telecommunications networks. At the same time, the EU was facing pressure from Washington to completely ban Chinese telecommunications companies.

As recommendations for a ban in 2020 were not enough, the EU could impose a mandatory ban on companies that could pose a security threat if member states such as Germany continue to delay.

In the spring, it was reported that Germany was considering banning certain components of Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE from its telecommunications network. This was called a potentially important step to solve security problems.

Earlier this year, the Biden Administration stopped granting licenses to American companies to export most goods to the Chinese company Huawei.