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EU Neutral On Potential US Stakes In Ericsson, Nokia

By  |  February 18, 2020

The U.S. Attorney General William Barr recently said the country should consider purchasing majority stakes in Nokia and/or Ericsson to push back against the dominance of Huawei and its control over the 5G market.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager signaled that regulators were neutral to the idea, saying that it’s up to the “businesses to answer if they are for sale or not,” and that it’s up to the EU “to make sure that every risk is assessed,” according to a report by CNBC. There is no direct competitor for Huawei in the U.S.

“Here in Europe, we are neutral on ownership, you can be state-owned or privately-owned; what is important for us is that [if] you act as a market operator, you have a real business case for what you do,” Vestager said. “So, you know, I have no specific point if the U.S. state would want to buy a stake, and I don’t know if there is a stake in Nokia, Ericsson that is for sale.”

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