 "EU to tighten cybersecurity rules, targeting Chinese tech firms")
The European Union is expected to unveil plans on Tuesday to keep Chinese suppliers away from the European critical infrastructure, as the block reduces dependencies on third world countries.
The relations between Brussels and Beijing are worsening as the EU has taken strong measures on trade relations with China.
The European Commission will publish its proposal revising cybersecurity rules in a bid to clamp down on foreign companies seen as posing security risks amid tariffs tension from the US and Greenland issue.
Some security concerns are often raised by Washington against China describing it as unfair competition.
The EU executive in 2023 urged member states to exclude Huawei and ZTE equipment from their mobile networks due to security risks, but now wants to make it a compulsory ban, a European official said.
The United States has long banned Huawei and tried to convince other allies to follow the same steps fearing that its products can be used to monitor communications.
Any EU mandatory restrictions could extend to Chinese companies making other products, including solar panels.
The commission also seeks to include sovereignty criteria in the scheme certifying that the cyber security of cloud services would exclude US companies which currently dominate the European market.
The EU wants to increase competitiveness and boost investment but critics say it is difficult when telecoms and defence are fragmented with different national rules.
In a win for tech giants, a draft document seen by AFP made no mention of “fair share” payments from the world’s biggest web companies for the large amounts of bandwidth they use.
Quick Reads
View AllThe EU executive will also give member states until 2035 to move off copper telecommunications networks, according to the draft document.
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