Nine more EU countries commit to the development of an ultra-secure quantum communication infrastructure

Yesterday, in Brussels, 9 EU Member States signed in coordination with the Commission a declaration on quantum communication infrastructure in Europe, joining 10 others to build an ultra-secure quantum communication infrastructure within the next 10 years. Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, said: “The declaration that several countries have just signed, following the initial signature in June, reflects the great importance that Member States are giving to the development of a European quantum communication infrastructure. This project is critical to the EU’s technological sovereignty and to the preparation of the next generation of communications security with quantum-safe encryption, building on quantum entanglement properties. Cooperation at European level will be paramount for the EU to thrive as a global competitor in quantum technologies.” Quantum technology can, for instance, make use of properties of quantum mechanics to make spying or tampering attempts on communication automatically detectable. Further details on the new signature of Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, France, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Finland can be found here and additional information about the declaration that was launched in June, as well as former signatories are available here. Representatives of 24 major European companies that manufacture quantum technology products and systems recently signed a document expressing strong support for the initiative.