On 5G, Italy chooses the Euro-Atlantic line and goes towards the no to Huawei. Although the experts have repeatedly stressed that Chinese technology is today the most advanced and convenient, and that the 5 Stars have always pursued the axis with Beijing, a position more in line with other countries seemed to emerge at the Government meeting on Thursday evening and therefore in favor of technological independence. Also to meet the pressures of the US ally, which for some time has been asking its partners in the Old Continent not to trust Huawei, considered by Washington to be the IT "fifth column" of Chinese espionage. Not surprisingly, the new orientation expressed by Palazzo Chigi comes a few days after the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Rome, scheduled for 30 September. The communiqué issued at the end of the Palazzo Chigi meeting, however, is very prudent and refers the decision to coordination at the European level.
The possibility of raising the barriers against the "invasion" of Huawei follows those already expressed by the French, Spanish, partly German governments (not to mention Boris Johnson's United Kingdom, which has completely succumbed to pressure from Donald Trump) and it arrives to the point of not excluding the use of golden power, i.e. the special instrument of intervention and veto on corporate governance on activities of strategic importance and pertaining to national security. Just like telecommunications, in the case of 5G. Even on this terrain, however, the positions within the majority do not coincide perfectly: the Democratic Party would like to ban Chinese technologies (with some nuances taking into account the investments already made in Italy), while for the 5 Stars the golden power would be sufficient , to be exercised on a case-by-case basis and perhaps more rigidly than in the past.
“It was agreed – explains a note from Palazzo Chigi with great prudence – that pursuing a strategy of technological independence appears to be an absolute priority within the European Union, with the full commitment of the Italian government to work to ensure the fullest coordination of the various European initiatives adopted both at the legislative level and at the level of construction of technological infrastructures”. The match is therefore entirely international and Italy cannot but be affected by geopolitical pressures. At the moment, Huawei technology, net of cybersecurity risks (from which, however, Italy has protected itself by setting up the CVNC, the National Assessment and Certification Center, which already "guarantees high security standards"), is the most advanced, but the European champions Nokia and Ericsson, strongly supported by the USA, are gradually closing the gap.
However, the postponement of European initiatives does not exclude, in the meantime, that the Government is already ready for the appointment with Mike Pompeo, in less than a week: this is why the 5G dossier could be dealt with in more detail on the occasion of the Council of Ministers convened for 29 September to discuss the Nadef.
