That was echoed by the European Commission’s top technology official, Henna Virkkunen. “I am participating in different global and international events with many different stakeholders involved, always,” she said in an interview on the sidelines, while emphasizing the EU’s effort to crack down on foreign dependencies and mitigate risks.
Liberal lawmaker Michał Kobosko, who was also part of the Brussels delegation, said he didn’t meet with Chinese officials or businesses this week. “I believe that was the right thing to do,” he said, citing the risks associated with Chinese tech suppliers.
“We have to be careful,” he said, while stressing that in the digital arena China remains “an important player.”
Out of options
The choices facing governments are acutely apparent in the event’s host country, where about a third of Spain’s networks rely on Chinese vendors like Huawei, according to the latest data from Strand Consult.
That makes it a key stronghold for the company in Europe. When it comes to technology, “Spain is a country which is on Chinese cocaine,” Strand said — citing the example of a recent multimillion-euro contract with Huawei awarded by Madrid for the storage of judicial wiretaps.
That drew criticism from Brussels and Washington. Spain’s interior ministry said in a statement that the government had awarded the contract to “European companies,” which then purchased storage products from Huawei. “There is no risk to security, technological and legal sovereignty, nor is there any foreign interference or threat to the custody of evidence,” the ministry said.
