The Vice-president of the European People's Party (EPP) Group in the European Parliament, Dolors Montserrat, has submitted a written question to the European Commission for an analysis of the contracts awarded to Huawei in critical infrastructures in Spain, "in the context of the judicial investigation into an alleged corruption scheme, influence peddling, and irregular awards linked to the circle of Minister Óscar Puente and former President of the Government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero".
This action in the European Parliament comes after the announcement of a new public contract from Adif with Huawei Technologies for the supply of equipment for railway data networks of the General Interest Railway Network, for an amount close to 400,000 euros.
As the PP emphasizes, various journalistic reports indicate that this file is included in documentation seized by the Economic and Fiscal Crimes Unit (UDEF) within the investigation into alleged intermediation and influence peddling schemes. The contract would have been put out to tender during the Christmas period and processed on an urgent basis.
In her initiative, Montserrat recalls the repeated alerts from Community institutions about the risks posed by technology providers classified as high-risk and the advisability of reducing strategic dependencies on third countries, particularly China, in particularly sensitive areas.
The MEP specifically asks the Commission whether it has already requested information from the Government of Spain on the set of contracts awarded to Huawei in strategic areas such as transport and telecommunications, and whether it considers it compatible with European risk mitigation objectives for public entities responsible for critical infrastructures to continue awarding sensitive technological projects to providers classified as high-risk.
The PP frames this request within the debate held by European institutions on the economic security of the Union and the need to reduce strategic dependencies on China in key industrial and technological value chains.
Montserrat finds it "particularly worrying" that the Executive continues to commission technological projects in critical infrastructures from companies against which there are continuous security warnings from Western partners and institutions.
In parallel, the European Commission is analyzing new tools to shield European competitiveness against practices from China that, in its opinion, generate economic and strategic vulnerabilities for the Member States.
The PP MEP calls for "maximum transparency" regarding the contracts awarded to Huawei by Spanish public bodies and demands that the Commission specify whether Spain is complying with European recommendations on economic security, cybersecurity, and the reduction of strategic dependencies.
Montserrat emphasizes that the defense of railway infrastructures and data networks linked to transport constitutes "a strategic issue for national and European security," in a context of growing international concern over cybersecurity.
Finally, the PP recalls that the Commission has announced its intention to take several Member States, including Spain, to the Court of Justice of the European Union for the delay in transposing the Directive that seeks to strengthen the protection of strategic sectors against cyberattacks.