Ljubljana - Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei has presented a legal opinion that it says shows the new bill on electronic communications has shortcomings which could lead to lawsuits at the EU court and disputes at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The government adopted the bill on 17 March after the previous bill was voted down in parliament in early February because of provisions on the security of 5G networks which the opposition claimed were an attempt to effectively prevent Huawei from selling gear to Slovenian operators.

The bill aims to replace the currently valid act of 2004 as it transposes the relevant EU directive where Slovenia is already running late. The National Assembly will vote on it on Thursday.

Huawei's legal opinion, penned by Morgan Lewis, says that the government has failed to notify the European Commission of the bill, which is a procedural violation meaning that the new legislation could not be fully implemented.

Such violations and failure to meet the country's obligations could lead to the Commission suing Slovenia at the EU court and to disputes at the WHO, according to the legal opinion circulated by the PR firm Herman & Partnerji.

The new version of the bill still contains provisions barring high-risk vendors from the market, though slightly changed. It says that authorities must solicit comments from the vendor and give them at least 30 days to provide information that could affect the decision.

The government has asked the National Assembly to fast-track the bill through parliament, arguing this was important to protect the security interests of the state.