The European Commission is very concerned about China's ability to cause a power outage in the European Union. An internal report signed by technicians from different directorates, including Energy and Trade, clearly states this and calls for no financing or minimal investment in clean energy projects such as wind or solar with Chinese companies and investors present.
"China has the capacity to cause systemic blackouts in the EU through investors involved in clean energy projects funded by the EU, and has conducted research in this regard," it states on one occasion. And it emphasizes: "China has the capacity and has conducted research to cause blackouts in the EU, for which investors have been identified as the easiest vector of attack." The fear of Europe experiencing what Spain suffered last year is evident and, in this case, with a very clear origin and responsible party.
The recent document accessed by EL MUNDO provides guidance to the European Investment Bank (EIB), the institution presided over by Nadia Calviño, on European projects to finance. "Safeguarding and aligning EU financing with the Union's economic security interests: mitigating risks associated with investors in clean energy projects funded by the EU," summarizes the document, citing "recent reports from INTCEN [EU Intelligence and Situation Centre]."
"They point to risks to economic security, cybersecurity, and physical security of electrical networks derived from the presence of investors from China," the document explains. "While technical cybersecurity measures may be sufficient to mitigate technical risks, they are not enough for non-technical risks. In addition, China's growing dominance in this sector is leading to a new critical dependence that, if not addressed, could be exploited in the future," it adds.
Therefore, it is emphasized that although China dominates the market in these types of investments, "there is significant [and underutilized] manufacturing capacity in Europe, the United States, and Japan." "There are significant alternatives within the EU and among other reliable suppliers, and the European industry unequivocally confirms that there is already sufficient supply capacity for all projects within the EU. If there is a clear demand, the industry can increase production within 6 to 12 months to also cover projects financed with EU funds outside the EU territory," it emphasizes.
The text, in essence, presents a position that contrasts with Spain's stance towards China, which has been deepening with the visit of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, to the country. From Moncloa, the message is conveyed that Xi Jinping and Chinese companies are reliable partners, and during the last few days, the Spanish leader has visited some of these companies, with agreements and contracts usually accompanying his visits. However, Commission technicians defend precisely the opposite.
And not only them. Members of the European government have also repeatedly warned of the dangers of signing contracts with companies like Huawei, with which Spain has significant ties. Furthermore, the Executive aims to completely exclude these companies that pose a "substantial risk" to common cybersecurity.
"The Commission has already determined that Huawei and ZTE present substantially higher risks than other 5G providers and has committed to avoiding exposing corporate communications to mobile networks using Huawei and ZTE as suppliers," recalled the Commission's Executive Vice President for Technological Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, in response to a parliamentary question from the PP last November. "The contract signed by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior with Huawei has the potential to create a dependency on a high-risk provider in a critical and sensitive sector that would increase the risk of foreign interference," she added.
However, the government has pointed out that "contracting Huawei storage systems does not pose any risk to security and complies with the required levels in the National Security Scheme." But in Brussels, it is evident that they believe the opposite.