Germany and Spain Push Back on Brussels’ Plans to Ban Huawei Gear Bloc-Wide
May 27, 2026 – 2:12 pm
Berlin and Madrid are resisting the European Commission’s draft plan to ban Huawei and ZTE equipment from EU telecom networks at the bloc level. They cite Beijing-retaliation risk and the cost of AI-infrastructure build-out as primary concerns.
Background
The European Commission has been pushing for binding legislation against Chinese telecom suppliers, such as Huawei and ZTE, since 2020. In early May 2026, they issued a formal recommendation urging member states to exclude these vendors from 5G core networks and the wider connectivity stack.
German and Spanish Objections
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Germany: Opposes binding legislation, citing its existing national phase-out plan with Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, and Telefónica Deutschland. The plan requires critical component removal from cores by the end of 2026 and broader radio-access-network removal by the end of 2029. Germany argues that any EU-level ban would lock in compliance costs and remove negotiating room for operators managing their Huawei contracts.
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Spain: Also resists, having recently signed a 5G core deal with Ericsson and entrusted significant fiber-optic infrastructure to Huawei. A binding EU ban would force the unwinding of active contracts with Huawei. Spain further argues that the cost of AI data center build-out, coupled with accelerated AI infrastructure requirements, should not be compounded by an exclusion of Huawei from the supplier pool.
Political Implications
The pushback comes at a delicate time for Brussels, as they are attempting to convert their long-standing recommendations into binding law. The Commission’s cybersecurity package, unveiled in January 2026, proposes removing high-risk components within 36 months of the rules taking effect.