Sweden has become the second country in Europe following the UK - and the first in the EU - to ban network operators from using Huawei equipment.
ADVERTISEMENTChinese tech giant Huawei said it has initiated arbitration proceedings against Sweden after the Nordic country banned it from rolling out 5G products.
“The Swedish authorities’ decision to discriminate against Huawei and exclude it from the 5G rollout has significantly harmed Huawei’s investment in Sweden, in breach of Sweden’s international obligations,” the Chinese company said in a statement to AFP on Sunday.
Huawei as a result had to initiate arbitration proceedings under the World Bank Group’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) “against the Kingdom of Sweden following a number of measures taken by the Swedish authorities targeting directly Huawei’s investments in Sweden and excluding Huawei from the roll-out of 5G network products and services in the country”.
Huawei did not specify the amount of damages it has claimed. According to public television SVI, the sum initially requested was 5.2 billion Swedish crowns (€495 million), but the figure could end up being much higher.
Sweden has become the second country in Europe following the UK - and the first in the EU - to ban network operators from using Huawei equipment in their 5G products.
Sweden has also ordered Huawei to remove equipment that’s already been installed by January 1, 2025.
After an appeal by Huawei, a Swedish court upheld the decision of the Swedish Post and Telecommunications Authority (PTS) in June 2021.
The ban has damaged relations between Sweden and China. Beijing warned at the time that PTS's decision could have "consequences" for Swedish companies operating in China.
