The EU’s Approach to 5G and the Reshaping of Transatlantic Relations

Lagging in the global technological race and caught between a U.S.-China rivalry, the European Union has been working to develop its own capacities in a number of key emerging technologies such as cybersecurity, AI, quantum computing, and, not least of all, 5G. This next-generation wireless standard – by enabling faster, more responsive, and highly flexible connectivity – will be one of the pillars of the future digital economy. But this critical technology faces fraught geopolitical challenges that deserve a broadly coordinated policy.

Writing in the European Leadership Network, Eline Chivot and Raquel Jorge-Ricart argue that the EU’s geopolitical vision on 5G networks faces divergences from within. These member-level differences need to be addressed in order to guarantee the EU’s objectives but also achieve the reshaping of the EU’s relationships with like-minded partners.