Cybersecurity Meets Geopolitics at Top EU Court

https://www.justsecurity.org/135240/cybersecurity-geopolitics-eu-court/

Publish Date: 2026-04-24 09:05:00

On March 19, Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued an advisory opinion in Case C‑354/24, Elisa Eesti AS v. Estonian Government Security Committee. The case concerns whether the Estonian government could lawfully compel Elisa Eesti AS, a mid-sized Baltic operator, to remove Huawei products from its network due to national security concerns. Ćapeta found that, under EU law, it could. The Advocate General’s opinion is non-binding and intended to help the Court reach a judgment grounded in its existing jurisprudence, so while the final judgement is still pending, the advisory opinion may play an important role in shaping the European Union’s cyber and information and communications technology (ICT) supply chain security regulation—especially the future of high-risk vendors across Europe.

When Telecom Services Become a National Security Flashpoint

Elisa Eesti AS is a subsidiary of the Finnish telecommunications company Elisa Oyj and one of three nationwide mobile network operators in Estonia. Its core network is composed of hardware and software from Ericsson and Nokia, both companies based in Europe, but its mobile radio network is manufactured by Huawei, a major Chinese ICT infrastructure provider. In 2022, Elisa Eesti AS applied to Estonia’s Office of Consumer Protection and Technical Supervision (TTJA) for ex ante authorization to use Huawei hardware and software in its 2G-4G and 5G mobile networks deployed in Estonia.

The Estonian Electronic Communications Act, which establishes requirements for the provision of electronic communications services in the country, mandates that hardware and software used in communications networks must not pose a risk to national security. After consulting with the Estonian Security Committee’s Cybersecurity Council (as required by the act), the TTJA issued a time‑limited usage permit, effectively preventing Elisa Eesti AS from continuing to deploy the Huawei…

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