In July 2019, Poland signed the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) Declaration, joining Hungary and Portugal as the second wave of signatories after the initiative’s launch in June 2019 by seven initial EU member states. According to the European Commission’s announcement, the declaration committed signatories to working together toward the development and deployment of a quantum communication infrastructure across the EU within ten years.
Poland’s Minister of Science and Higher Education signed the declaration on behalf of the country. By joining EuroQCI, Poland agreed to collaborate with the European Commission and the European Space Agency on building a secure quantum communication network consisting of a terrestrial fiber segment and a space-based satellite segment.
EuroQCI was designed to protect critical infrastructure and encryption systems against cyber threats, securing smart energy grids, air traffic control, and other sensitive systems. All 27 EU member states eventually signed the declaration by July 2021.