EU competition commissioner open to US taking stake in Nokia, Ericsson

The European Union’s competition chief left the door open to the possibility for the US government to take a stake in the top 5G players on the continent, Nokia and Ericsson.

Margrethe Vestager, the EU competition commissioner told CNBC that she is open to the possibility as long as it does not pose a risk.

Vestager told CNBC Tuesday that it’s up to the “businesses to answer if they are for sale or not” but it’s up to European lawmakers “to make sure that every risk is assessed.”

“Here in Europe we are neutral on ownership, you can be state owned or privately owned, what is important for us is that you act as a market operator that you have a real business case for what you do,” Vestager told CNBC’s Silvia Amaro.

US Attorney General William Barr said earlier this month that the government should consider taking a controlling stake in Nokia and Ericsson to mitigate the risks of Huawei’s involvement in the development of 5G tech and prevent its dominance over the space.

Washington maintains that Huawei is a national security risk despite the company’s repeated denials of the allegations.

Nonetheless, members of Trump’s administration did not appear to agree with Barr’s suggestions.