The final quarter of 2023 saw quantum technology transition from national strategy papers to operational policy commitments across multiple institutional layers. NATO foreign ministers approved the Alliance’s first quantum technologies strategy, signaling that quantum capabilities are now treated as a defense-readiness priority rather than a research curiosity. The European Union moved toward collective coordination as 11 (and eventually 26) member states signed the European Declaration on Quantum Technologies. South Korea gave statutory force to its quantum ambitions by passing the Quantum Promotion Act, while the United Kingdom translated its £2.5 billion National Quantum Strategy into five measurable missions. In the United States, the House Science Committee advanced a reauthorization of the expired National Quantum Initiative, though the bill’s path to enactment remained uncertain.
NATO: Foreign Ministers Approve First Quantum Technologies Strategy
What happened. On November 28, 2023, NATO foreign ministers approved the Alliance’s first quantum technologies strategy, covering applications across sensing, positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), communications, computing, and cryptography. A public summary released in January 2024 described the establishment of a Transatlantic Quantum Community and outlined the transition of NATO’s cryptographic systems to quantum-safe standards. Six of the 44 companies selected for the DIANA accelerator’s first cohort specialized in quantum technologies.
Why it matters. The strategy marks the point at which quantum technology formally enters the Alliance’s capability planning framework. Its emphasis on quantum-resistant cryptography as a desired outcome confirms that PQC migration is no longer a theoretical exercise within NATO but an operational objective with institutional backing. The Transatlantic Quantum Community concept also creates a structured channel for connecting Allied defense innovation programs (including DIANA and the NATO Innovation Fund) with national quantum ecosystems, potentially shaping procurement signals for quantum companies across member states.
What remains unclear. The public summary does not specify timelines for NATO’s cryptographic migration, nor does it indicate the budget allocated to quantum-related initiatives within the Alliance’s common funding. Whether the 22 Allies participating in the quantum community will expand, and how the strategy will interact with the EU’s parallel quantum infrastructure efforts (particularly for dual-use Allies that are EU members), is not yet defined.
Who should care. Defense technology firms in NATO member states. PQC vendors targeting government and military customers. National quantum program managers coordinating with Allied procurement cycles. Cryptographic standards bodies.
European Union: Member States Sign Quantum Declaration, Signaling Collective Ambition
What happened. On December 5, 2023, under the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, 11 member states signed the European Declaration on Quantum Technologies in the presence of Commissioner Thierry Breton. The initial signatories included France, Belgium, Finland, Spain, Greece, and others. Additional member states joined in subsequent months, with the total eventually reaching 26 of 27. The declaration committed signatories to coordinating R&D programs, accelerating lab-to-market transitions, and building pan-European quantum infrastructures. Separate tracker entries confirmed the participation of Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Croatia, Greece, and Bulgaria.
Why it matters. The near-universal sign-on rate (26 of 27 member states) reflects a political consensus that quantum technology is a European strategic priority, not merely a national one. The declaration’s call for an action plan with concrete targets provides a policy hook for the European Commission to propose binding coordination mechanisms or common funding instruments in subsequent legislative cycles. It also strengthens the institutional rationale for EuroQCI, the Quantum Flagship, and quantum components of the Digital Decade targets. For industry, the declaration’s emphasis on pan-European infrastructure and “competence clusters” suggests that EU-level procurement and standardization frameworks may emerge as complements (or alternatives) to national programs.
What remains unclear. The declaration itself contains commitments but no funding figures or enforcement mechanisms. How the promised action plan will relate to existing instruments (Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, the Chips Act) has not been specified. The identity of the single non-signatory member state has not been formally confirmed. Whether the declaration leads to new common funding or merely repackages existing programs is the central open question.
Who should care. Quantum technology companies operating across EU borders. National research agencies managing quantum programs that may be asked to align with EU-level targets. EuroQCI consortium members. EU institutional affairs teams at multinational technology firms.
South Korea: National Assembly Passes Quantum Promotion Act
What happened. In October 2023, South Korea’s National Assembly passed the Act on the Promotion of Quantum Science and Technology and Quantum Industry, which took effect in November 2023. The law provided statutory authority for quantum R&D funding, startup support, research center establishment, and international cooperation. It created a governance structure including a high-level Quantum Strategy Committee to steer quantum initiatives. South Korea also advanced its domestic post-quantum cryptography competition, selecting eight algorithms for Round 2 in December.
Why it matters. South Korea becomes one of a small number of countries to enact dedicated quantum legislation (as distinct from executive strategies or funding announcements). By embedding quantum policy in statute, the Act is designed to ensure continuity across electoral cycles, addressing a vulnerability that executive-branch strategies alone cannot resolve. The parallel advancement of the KpqC competition reflects a deliberate effort to develop Korean-specific PQC standards alongside (not merely in adoption of) the NIST process, a pattern also seen in China’s and France’s approaches to cryptographic sovereignty.
What remains unclear. The Act’s funding levels are not specified in the legislation itself; actual appropriations will depend on annual budget processes. How the Quantum Strategy Committee will interact with existing bodies (such as the Ministry of Science and ICT) in setting priorities has not been publicly detailed. The KpqC competition’s relationship to eventual national adoption of NIST standards, and whether Korean standards will diverge or converge, will determine the interoperability implications for international partners.
Who should care. Quantum hardware and software companies seeking entry to the Korean market. PQC vendors and standards professionals. Asian trade and technology policy analysts. International cooperation leads at national quantum programs.
United Kingdom: Five Quantum Missions Launched in Autumn Statement
What happened. On November 22, 2023, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt launched five quantum technology missions as part of the Autumn Statement, backed by the £2.5 billion National Quantum Strategy. The missions set specific outcome targets: a UK-based quantum computer capable of 1 trillion operations by 2035; the world’s most advanced quantum network at scale by 2035; quantum sensing solutions benefiting every NHS Trust by 2030; quantum navigation systems deployed on aircraft by 2030; and mobile, networked quantum sensors for critical infrastructure by 2030.
Why it matters. The missions represent the most specific outcome targets any major national quantum strategy has published. By setting quantified benchmarks and deadlines, the UK government is creating accountability mechanisms that go well beyond the directional statements typical of most national strategies. The NHS Trust mission is particularly distinctive: it ties quantum sensing to a healthcare delivery system with identifiable institutional endpoints, which could generate early demand signals for quantum sensor manufacturers. The 2030 deadline for the navigation and sensing missions is tight, given the current maturity of these technologies, and will require rapid movement from demonstration to deployment.
What remains unclear. The missions were announced without detailed delivery programs; the government stated it would work with industry, academia, and investors in coming weeks to define these. The £2.5 billion envelope covers all five missions plus broader strategy implementation, and how funding will be allocated across them has not been disclosed. Whether the 2030 deadlines for Missions 3, 4, and 5 are achievable given the current state of quantum sensing and navigation hardware is an open engineering question that the missions themselves cannot answer.
Who should care. Quantum sensing and navigation companies (particularly those targeting defense and healthcare). NHS technology procurement teams. Defense contractors working on PNT alternatives. Investors tracking quantum commercialization timelines.
United States: House Committee Advances NQI Reauthorization as Original Authorization Lapses
What happened. In late November 2023, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology passed H.R. 6213, the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act, introduced by Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). The bill aimed to renew and expand the original 2018 National Quantum Initiative Act, whose authorization of appropriations for certain R&D activities had expired on September 30, 2023. Key provisions included new NIST quantum centers, NSF workforce programs, quantum testbeds, and NASA’s formal inclusion in the initiative. Separately, AUKUS defense ministers announced acceleration of quantum PNT development for GPS-degraded military environments.
Why it matters. The lapse of the NQI’s R&D authorization created a policy gap for the federal quantum program at a time when peer competitors and allies were increasing their own commitments. While funding continued through appropriations, the expired authorization weakened the statutory basis for new programs and coordination mechanisms. The committee’s bipartisan passage of H.R. 6213 signaled continued congressional support for quantum investment, but the bill’s failure to advance to a full House vote during the 118th Congress left the reauthorization unfinished. The AUKUS quantum PNT announcement, by contrast, demonstrated that trilateral defense cooperation on quantum applications was moving ahead on an executive basis without waiting for legislative action.
What remains unclear. Whether Senate action on a companion bill will materialize, and on what timeline, remains the central question for U.S. quantum governance. The practical effects of the authorization lapse on agency programs (particularly at NSF, DOE, and NIST) are difficult to assess from outside government. Whether the next Congress will take up reauthorization, and whether the scope or funding levels will change, is contingent on political dynamics that extend well beyond quantum policy.
Who should care. U.S. quantum research institutions and national labs. Quantum companies dependent on federal contracts and grants. Congressional affairs teams at technology firms. Allied governments tracking U.S. commitment signals for bilateral cooperation planning.
Also in October–December 2023
Ireland published Quantum 2030, its first national strategy for quantum technologies, structured around five pillars covering research, talent, collaboration, innovation, and awareness. Minister Simon Harris described the strategy’s adoption as a whole-of-government policy goal.
The OECD held its first dedicated quantum technology event at the Global Forum on Technology in Paris, drawing 340 participants from 50 countries, and subsequently established a GFTech Focus Group on Quantum Technologies in December 2023.
Russia and China completed a 3,800-kilometer satellite quantum communication test using China’s Mozi satellite to distribute quantum keys between ground stations near Moscow and Urumqi, with researchers describing a BRICS quantum communication network as “technically absolutely possible.”
France’s ANSSI published a follow-up position paper on post-quantum cryptography, reaffirming its three-phase transition timeline and recommending hybrid mechanisms combining pre-quantum and post-quantum algorithms, while the UK’s NCSC issued updated PQC guidance endorsing ML-KEM and ML-DSA for general use.
Detailed analysis of each development covered in this briefing, including cross-jurisdictional patterns and sector-level implications, is available to Quantum Policy Radar subscribers.