The European Union has set out a strategy recommending that member states limit "high-risk" 5G vendors, a category that includes the Chinese tech giant Huawei. But it stopped short of recommending a full ban on the firm, despite aggressive lobbying by the Trump administration.

The recommendations are just that: The EU's individual member states have the final word on whether and to what degree they will allow Huawei to help build their next generation of wireless telecommunications networks. 

The EU's recommendations, dubbed the "5G toolbox," were presented Wednesday by Margrethe Vestager, the commission's vice president for digital issues and competition, and Thierry Bréton, the commissioner for industry. They are designed to ensure that the Commission and the member states work together on 5G network security. 

"We can do great things with 5G," Vestager said at a press conference. "The technology supports personalized medicines, precision agriculture and energy grids that can integrate all kinds of renewable energy. This will make a positive difference. But only if we can make our networks secure. Only then will the digital changes benefit all citizens."

The strategy does not mention any companies or countries by name, although it is generally understood to be aimed at vendors like Huawei. 

Under the "toolbox" approach, all EU members agree to take measures to ensure the highest level of security. These include assessing the risk profiles of suppliers, applying restrictions to suppliers considered to be high risk and, where necessary, excluding some companies from critical and sensitive assets. They also agreed to have a strategy for the diversification of vendors.

The EU's announcement comes on the heels of a decision by the U.K. on Tuesday, in which it will allow Huawei to provide equipment for part of the country's 5G network but would keep it from some more strategically sensitive infrastructure, such as nuclear power and defense systems. 

The United States claims that Huawei poses a serious threat to national security, alleging that it can be compelled by Chinese law to hand over data or spy on behalf of the Chinese government. Some European officials have voiced similar concerns. 

Huawei denies it is in any way a threat to other nations and insists it would never engage in espionage.

On Friday, the U.K. will officially leave the EU, but Vestager said the U.K.'s strategy on the roll-out of a 5G network appears to be in line with the EU's. "There is a sense of convergence," she said. 

She also stressed the importance of the European Commission and the member states working together to deliver network security.

"We take all the tools we have available in order to make sure that … we have a consistent approach to 5G security," she said.

The announcements in Brussels on Wednesday and London on Tuesday are viewed as a victory for Huawei, which lobbied hard in Europe after it was all but banned from doing business in the U.S. The decisions by both also come despite intensive lobbying by the Trump administration, which pressured the EU and its member countries to join in banning Huawei.