The Union's parliamentary group is likely to follow the line of the Chancellery when expanding the 5G network: high security requirements, but no exclusion of certain companies. One point in particular is controversial in the Union group.
Berlin (dpa) - The Union parliamentary group demands high security standards when setting up the 5G mobile network - but the controversial Chinese telecommunications equipment supplier Huawei should not be excluded. This emerges from a paper to be discussed and adopted by the group on Tuesday.
The most controversial issue in the Union faction is whether Parliament has a reservation of approval for the approval of suppliers - but the paper does not provide for this. It states that the highest security requirements should apply to critical components.
The parliamentary director of the Union faction, Michael Grosse-Brömer (CDU), nevertheless said in Berlin that the handwriting of the Union faction was clearly visible in the wording of the paper. The federal government had very different ideas. He expects a large majority in the group.
The security requirements should be defined in a security catalog and applied and controlled by the responsible federal authorities, the paper says. "The use of components from an outfitter can be prohibited if it has been determined that overriding public interests, in particular security policy concerns of the Federal Republic of Germany, conflict."
It also says that the federal government should quickly submit the amendment to the Telecommunications Act and the IT Security Act 2.0 - this should clarify which requirements for security and trustworthiness telecommunications equipment providers must meet in order to be allowed to participate in 5G expansion in Germany. "In this context, only those suppliers can be trusted who verifiably fulfill a clearly defined security catalog, which also includes that an interference by a foreign country on our 5G infrastructure is impossible."
The faction would thus follow the line of the Chancellery and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which are against the exclusion of certain companies when building the superfast 5G network. At the end of January, the EU Commission also recommended that Huawei be allowed to participate, albeit with restrictions. The Union faction's paper states that the German government should advocate a uniform, high security standard at European level.
Neither the world's leading mobile communications supplier Huawei from China, nor the two key European competitors Nokia and Ericsson are named in the fraction paper.
The US administration of President Donald Trump had recently exerted massive diplomatic pressure so that western industrialized countries and developing countries around the world do without Huawei technology when building their 5G networks. US politicians assume that Huawei is closely involved in the command structures of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army.
Huawei denies these allegations and points out that the software code of the devices can be checked by customers. In addition, the systems are designed so that Huawei itself does not see any data from the customer networks. The Union faction's paper says that the use of strong cryptography and end-to-end encryption offers the possibility of maintaining the confidentiality of communication and the data exchanged.
Mobile phone providers in Germany would find it difficult to completely do without Huawei technology when they started the fifth generation of mobile phones (5G) - since they are already using devices from the Chinese market leader in their LTE networks (4G). There will be a smooth transition between 4G and 5G, not a completely new installation. If the four licensees are forced to forego Huawei technology, the development of the 5G network should be delayed and become significantly more expensive.
The SPD in the Bundestag basically welcomed the fact that the Union faction had positioned itself to set up the 5G mobile network in Germany. "After months of hesitation, the Union faction is finally ready to debate the security of 5G networks," said Sören Bartol, deputy of the parliamentary group, on Tuesday at the German Press Agency in Berlin.
Bartol said the SPD parliamentary group had already made it clear last year what was important: "The protection of our digital sovereignty in Europe." He emphasized: "For this we want the strictest rules and the highest requirements for the providers of 5G technology." The trustworthiness of network suppliers must be guaranteed. After all, 5G is the digital lifeline of the future.
