Ireland signed the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) Declaration on July 28, 2021, becoming the 27th and final EU member state to join the initiative. According to the European Commission’s announcement, all 27 member states had committed to working alongside the Commission and the European Space Agency to build a secure quantum communication infrastructure spanning the entire EU.
EuroQCI will consist of a terrestrial segment using fiber communication networks linking strategic sites at national and cross-border level, and a space segment based on satellites linking national quantum communication networks across the EU. The declaration was first launched in June 2019, with seven member states signing initially.
Ireland’s signing completed the full membership required for the Commission to advance the initiative’s implementation, with Digital Europe Programme and Connecting Europe Facility actions supporting the development of national and cross-border quantum communication networks beginning in 2021 and 2022.