By Gianluca Lo Nostro and Agnieszka OlenskaJan 29 (Reuters) - Europe and the United States are co-dependent and large technology companies cannot rely on a ​single continent, Nokia CEO Justin Hotard said on Thursday, as the European ‌Union weighs stronger support for homegrown industry. Nokia and its Swedish ⁠rival Ericsson have been touting ‌their credentials as secure Western suppliers of network equipment while governments reassess their exposure to Chinese suppliers. "Every single one in Europe and the U.S. that ‌is of scale is dependent on the European and U.S. market for scale. The U.S. lacks a major domestic supplier of telecoms gear, leaving carriers there reliant on Nokia, Ericsson and South Korea’s Samsung after Chinese vendors were banned for national security reasons. A wider removal of Chinese equipment from European telecom networks could unlock new opportunities for ‍Nokia and Ericsson, following ⁠several years of lacklustre 5G investments across the region.