Breton, the commissioner in charge of the single market, is calling on more countries to exclude or restrict Huawei and ZTE from their 5G networks, citing the companies as high-risk suppliers.
So far, ten member states have taken such measures.
“This is too slow, and it poses a great security risk and endangers the collective security of the Union, because it creates a great dependency for the EU and a serious vulnerability,” Breton said at a press conference on Friday.
The EU produced guidelines two years ago where member states were asked to carry out risk assessments at national and EU level for the construction of 5G networks.
China has criticized EU countries’ restrictions, which it claims have no legal basis.