Germany and Spain have become the loudest voices against a European Commission plan to bar Huawei and ZTE gear from telecom networks.

European Union flags flap in the wind outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) Germany and Spain have become the loudest voices against a European Commission plan to bar Huawei and ZTE gear from telecom networks across the bloc. Both governments want the call on high-risk vendors to stay with national capitals, and both warn that a bloc-wide ban could invite retaliation from Beijing and quietly inflate the cost of Europe's AI infrastructure drive. The objection targets the binding-law stage, not the recommendations that came before it. The Commission has spent most of 2026 trying to turn its long-running advice against Chinese suppliers into actual legislation. In early May it issued a fresh recommendation—broader than the 2020 version—pushing member states to drop Huawei and ZTE from the wider connectivity stack, not just 5G cores. Why Berlin is the hardest member state for Brussels to move The numbers explain Germany's reluctance. Huawei kit still sat in roughly 60% of German 5G radio sites as recently as late 2024. Berlin already has its own phase-out deal with Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica Deutschland—critical core components out by end-2026, radio-access gear by end-2029. A binding EU ban would tighten that timetable and lock in compliance costs the country has partly absorbed. Spain's concern is structurally different. Telefónica renewed its Huawei 5G core contract in late 2024 to run until 2030, and Madrid handed Huawei a sizeable chunk of fibre-optic work in summer 2025. An EU ban would force operators to unpick deals they are still actively executing. The AI cost argument now driving the resistance The newest twist is money. Both capitals say Europe's data-centre build-out will demand network upgrades on a scale nobody has yet budgeted for. Cut Huawei from the supplier pool while racing to roll out AI infrastructure, and the bill only climbs. The European alternatives, Ericsson and Nokia, are already running at capacity and pricing accordingly. Neither government argues that Huawei is harmless. The point is that the Commission's timing forces a choice between two of its own stated priorities. The wider trend still favours Brussels. As of January 2026, 13 of 27 member states had taken concrete steps against Huawei and ZTE, up from 11 two years earlier. China has warned of "countermeasures." The European Council takes up the binding draft in the second half of 2026—where the fight is now about timetables and exemptions, not principle. End of Article Latest Mobiles View All OPPO A6c 4G HMD Vibe2 5G ₹10,999 Realme 16T ₹26,999 Motorola Razr Fold ₹1,49,999 Ai+ Nova Flip ₹39,999 OnePlus Nord CE 6 Lite 5G ₹31,999 Moto G37 Power 5G Moto G37 5G Realme 50A Prime Poco C81x 4G ₹10,128 OnePlus 10R Prime Blue Edition Infinix Hot 10 Play

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