Her government Portugal may prohibit the use of Chinese company equipment Huawei in networks 5G countries in a move that, according to the Financial Times, could deal a serious blow to the ambitions of the Chinese company in Europe.

Whether telcos are allowed to use Huawei equipment in their 5G network infrastructure has become a major concern in Europe in recent years. USA are trying to persuade their Western allies to block the Chinese telecommunications giant’s access to national networks on national security grounds.

The UK, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have already banned Huawei from using their own 5G networks, and Germany this year said it was reconsidering the use of Chinese components in its own network.

However, Portugal has been one of the few countries in Europe that has so far refused to follow the US line on Huawei.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, whose country is one of the largest recipients of Chinese investment per capita, told the Financial Times in 2019 that Chinese companies “have shown full respect for the Portuguese legal framework and market rules.”

The three main mobile operators in Portugal are Altice Portugal, Nos and Vodafone. Altice Portugal, the largest of the providers, in 2018 signed an agreement with Huawei to use its equipment for the development of the 5G network.

However, plans are now in place to potentially impose restrictions on the use of Chinese equipment on the grounds that this equipment may be considered high-risk, according to a Portuguese Cybersecurity Council document published yesterday on the Portuguese government website.

For its part, Huawei released a statement saying: “Over the past two decades, Huawei has partnered with Portuguese carriers to build wireless networks and provide quality services. […] We will continue to comply with all applicable laws and regulations…”

According to the Financial Times