German MPs urge Merkel to keep Huawei out of 5G network

A group of MPs from Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is pressing the German chancellor to keep Chinese telecom company Huawei out of the country’s 5G network, citing national security reasons.

The push comes after Berlin last week released a new “security catalogue” for telecoms networks, which critics say lacks teeth because it only obliges Huawei to sign a “no spy” clause while generally opening 5G tenders to the Chinese telecoms giant.

They also argued that China had largely shut European telecom providers Nokia and Ericsson out of its own tenders for 5G networks, and said that Germany should offer markets for those companies if it was serious about creating “European champions.”

Merkel has come under fire for her decision from allies like the U.S., which warned last week the move could have serious implications for future intelligence-sharing between Berlin and Washington.

Via Politico