In 2025, ten Bulgarian organizations secured EUR 12.8 million in funding for five projects in the digital sector under the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), according to an announcement by Bulgaria’s Ministry of Transport and Communications. Two of the five projects directly concerned quantum communication infrastructure.
Project SEEWQCI (South-East Europe to Western Europe Quantum Communication Infrastructure) involves the deployment of a 1,100 km terrestrial quantum network from Greece to Bulgaria, the construction of five optical ground stations, and testing of 29 secure communication scenarios across more than 30 nodes. Bulgarian participants include Enterprise Communications Group, Correct Consulting Group, and the Institute of Robotics at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Project SBIQCI (Sofia to Bucharest Interconnection of Quantum Communications Infrastructure) represents a step toward a pan-European quantum communication network by linking national quantum networks in the region.
All five submitted Bulgarian proposals received funding. The Ministry of Transport and Communications served as the national coordinator for CEF’s digital sector.