Bulgaria signed the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) declaration in early 2020, joining 23 other EU Member States in committing to the development and deployment of a pan-European quantum communication network. The declaration, originally launched in June 2019 at the Digital Assembly in Bucharest, was signed in Brussels by Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, and Romania in the same round, according to the European Commission announcement.
Karina Angelieva, Bulgaria’s Deputy Minister of Education and Science, stated at the signing that quantum technologies and quantum computing should be among the priorities for European research and innovation. She expressed hope that the declaration would drive new partnerships across Europe.
Under the declaration, signatory countries agreed to work with the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) toward deploying a quantum communication infrastructure within ten years. The QCI would link sensitive public and private communication assets across the EU, creating a secure communication shield based on quantum technologies to protect critical infrastructures, financial transactions, and sensitive data storage.