Why the EU is Forcibly Evicting Huawei and ZTE

For years, the European Union’s approach to Chinese telecommunications giants was one of polite suggestion. The "5G Security Toolbox," introduced in 2020, was a collection of guidelines that nudged member states to avoid "high-risk vendors" without ever explicitly naming them. But on January 20, 2026, the era of diplomacy officially ended.

The European Commission, led by Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, has moved to legally mandate the removal of Huawei and ZTE from critical infrastructure across the 27-member bloc. This shift from voluntary recommendation to binding law represents a fundamental "de-risking" of the continent. It is no longer about whether a country wants to use Chinese gear; it is about whether the law will allow it.

The eviction is not just about 5G towers. Under the new draft legislation, the phase-out will extend to solar energy inverters, security scanners at border checkpoints, and water supply management systems. Brussels is effectively drawing a line in the sand: if you are a company based in a "high-risk" third country with a history of state-sponsored cyber activity, your hardware is no longer welcome in the nervous system of Europe.

The Three-Year "Rip and Replace" Countdown

The cornerstone of the new mandate is a strict three-year phase-out period for all equipment currently installed in critical infrastructure. This mirrors the "Rip and Replace" program launched by the United States in 2022, but on a much larger and more complex scale.

By 2029, the EU expects its core networks—the high-speed data centers and processing hubs, to be entirely purged of Huawei and ZTE components. The mandate recognizes that "fragmented national solutions" have failed. While countries like the UK, Sweden, and Denmark already implemented bans, others like Spain and Germany continued to award multi-million dollar contracts to Chinese firms as recently as 2025.

Germany, which famously resisted a ban for years, has finally capitulated under this new EU-wide pressure. By late 2026, German telcos must remove all Chinese components from their 5G core networks. This is a massive logistical undertaking, as Huawei technology currently accounts for a significant portion of the country's existing infrastructure.

Sabotage, Espionage, and the Kill Switch

The primary motivation for this forcible eviction is the fear of "extra-legal" influence. European security services have grown increasingly worried about Chinese laws that require domestic companies to cooperate with state intelligence agencies. In a crisis, the fear is that a software update could act as a regional "kill switch", bringing critical communications or energy grids to a halt.

These concerns were amplified by a series of major data breaches in 2025, which exposed how vulnerable modern, software-defined networks are to supply chain interference. As 5G becomes the backbone for autonomous vehicles, remote surgery, and smart cities, the "trustworthiness" of the vendor has become more important than the cost of the hardware.

Huawei has pushed back aggressively, stating that a ban based on country of origin violates basic legal principles of fairness and WTO obligations. The company maintains that its technology is secure and that no factual evidence of state-sponsored backdoors has ever been produced. However, in the eyes of Brussels, the potential for interference is now a risk too great to bear.

The Economic Dilemma and the Rise of Nokia-Ericsson

The eviction comes with a heavy price tag. Industry lobbyists from SolarPower Europe and various telecom groups have warned that removing Chinese gear, which is often cheaper and more advanced than Western alternatives, could lead to higher prices for consumers and slower digital rollouts.

For example, more than 90% of solar panels in the EU rely on Chinese components. Forcing a change in the mid-stream electronics (like inverters) could derail the continent's aggressive green energy targets. The Commission’s response is that the cost of a catastrophic network failure far outweighs the higher upfront cost of secure equipment.

The primary beneficiaries of this move are Europe’s own champions: Nokia and Ericsson. After years of struggling to compete with China’s state-backed pricing, the two Nordic firms are now the default choices for a secure European future. This is a deliberate part of the EU's "technological sovereignty" strategy, ensuring that the continent is no longer caught between the dominance of U.S. Big Tech and Chinese hardware.

Enforcing the Sovereignty Mandate

To ensure compliance, the Commission is introducing a "carrot and stick" approach. Those who fail to follow the mandatory de-risking guidelines could face infringement proceedings and heavy financial penalties. Furthermore, the EU is considering withholding funding from its "Global Gateway" program for third-party projects that continue to use Huawei technology.

This aggressive enforcement marks the final chapter of a decade-long debate. The European Union has decided that in a world of increasing geopolitical tension, "neutral" technology no longer exists. By forcibly evicting high-risk vendors, Europe is betting that a more expensive, secure network will be the only way to safeguard its democracy and its digital economy in the years to come.

The next critical date is mid-2026, when the first wave of core network removals must be verified by national regulators. If the "Rip and Replace" process hits a snag, the EU may face a choice between its security goals and its connectivity targets.