The European Union has launched a comprehensive Quantum Strategy with a focus on developing region-wide quantum secure communications. The overall strategy is designed to make the EU a global leader in quantum technologies by the year 2030. Part of the strategy looks to address the significant cybersecurity risks posed by future advances in quantum computing. Powerful quantum computers will be capable of breaking existing encryption protocols, putting all organizational data at great risk. This scenario is widely expected to occur in the next seven to fifteen years, creating an urgent need for action.
One aspect of the strategy is the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure initiative, also known as the EuroQCI.
This initiative is designed to develop secure quantum communication infrastructure spanning the whole of the European Union. Currently, twenty-six EU member states are deploying their own national terrestrial quantum communication networks for this purpose. These networks will be used to test a secure communication Quantum Key Distribution satellite scheduled for launch in 2026. Pilot projects include the secure hospital-to-hospital transmission of sensitive medical data and encrypted government communications between institutions.
The Quantum Internet initiative will complement EuroQCI by developing an architecture for distributed quantum computing and sensing. This will build on use case frameworks that have already been initiated, as well as the recent launch. The Quantum Internet Alliance Technology Forum is the first global open forum dedicated to the quantum Internet. In 2026, the initiative will support the launch of a pilot facility for the European Quantum Internet. The objective is to deploy a fully operational quantum-safe communication network by 2030 as the first step.
This new EU announcement comes amid growing attention on addressing quantum security risks ahead of the so-called ‘Q-Day’.
This is when quantum computers will be powerful enough to break common encryption protocols like RSA and AES. In August 2024, the US National Institute of Standards & Technology formalized the world’s first post-quantum cryptography standards. Despite these government initiatives, research has shown that organizations have so far been slow to implement any quantum-secure plans. ISACA reported in April 2025 that just five percent of organizations have a defined strategy for this.
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