Germany and Spain are opposing Brussels' proposals to impose a ban on Huawei equipment throughout the entire bloc.

      Berlin and Madrid are opposing the European Commission's push for binding legislation regarding Huawei and ZTE, citing concerns over potential retaliation from Beijing and the expenses associated with building AI infrastructure. Germany and Spain are at the forefront of resistance within the European Council against the Commission’s proposal to ban Huawei and ZTE equipment from EU telecom networks on a bloc-wide basis. Both countries aim to keep decisions related to high-risk vendors at the national level and have cautioned that an EU-wide ban could provoke backlash from Beijing and increase the costs involved in developing artificial intelligence infrastructure, which the bloc has been trying to accelerate over the past 18 months.

      This resistance comes at a challenging time for Brussels, as the Commission has been working throughout 2026 to transform its long-standing "recommendation" against Chinese telecom providers into enforceable legislation. In early May, it issued a new formal recommendation, broader than the original from 2020, advising member states to exclude Huawei and ZTE not only from 5G core networks but also from the entire connectivity framework.

      In January, Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen introduced a cybersecurity package that, according to current drafts, would mandate the removal of specified high-risk supplier components from critical network infrastructure within 36 months of the rules taking effect. The objections from Germany and Spain are focused on this binding legislation phase, rather than the earlier recommendations.

      The numbers provide insight into why Berlin's stance has proven particularly challenging for Brussels to shift. As of late 2024, approximately 60% of German 5G radio sites still utilized Huawei equipment. Germany has developed its own national phase-out strategy, established with Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, and Telefónica Deutschland, which calls for the removal of critical components by the end of 2026 and a more comprehensive removal from the radio access network by the end of 2029. Viewed from Berlin's perspective, this domestic timeline serves as the guiding framework. An EU-level binding prohibition would tighten this schedule, solidify compliance costs that Germany has already begun to absorb, and eliminate the flexibility operators need to manage their existing contracts with Huawei.

      Spain's situation is structurally different. In February, MasOrange selected Ericsson for a six-year 5G standalone core contract, while Telefónica extended its contract with Huawei for 5G core services until 2030 in late 2024. Additionally, in summer 2025, Spain allocated substantial fiber-optic infrastructure to Huawei, a move that the Commission has highlighted as creating "dependence on a high-risk supplier in a critical and sensitive sector." An EU-level binding ban would necessitate the unwinding of contracts that Spanish operators are actively fulfilling.

      The argument regarding AI costs adds a new political dimension to this week's opposition. Both governments have pointed out that the expansion of AI data centers across Europe will require significant upgrades to telecom networks, which the bloc has not adequately planned for. The exclusion of Huawei from the supplier pool, while simultaneously advocating for a rapid rollout of AI infrastructure, creates a financial burden that neither country wishes to shoulder, especially since Ericsson and Nokia, the European alternatives, are operating at capacity and charging accordingly.

      Neither capital argues that Huawei poses no threat; instead, they believe that the Commission's timing forces a choice between two of its stated industrial priorities. Despite the pushback from Germany and Spain, the wider context seems to be shifting in favor of Brussels. As of January 2026, 13 of the 27 member states had implemented specific 5G security measures targeting Huawei and ZTE, an increase from 11 in early 2024. The trajectory is evident; the pace is what is under debate. China's foreign ministry has cautioned that a bloc-wide ban would prompt "countermeasures," a scenario that neither Berlin nor Madrid is eager to provoke, given their existing trade dependencies.

      The European Council is anticipated to officially review the draft for binding legislation in the latter half of 2026. The negotiations are now focusing on timelines and exceptions rather than fundamental principles, an area where Berlin and Madrid see the potential for national flexibility. Brussels will have to determine whether partial compliance is preferable to abandoning the proposal altogether.