Romania signed the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) Declaration on February 27, 2020, in Brussels, alongside Austria, Bulgaria, and Denmark. The four countries joined 20 other EU member states that had previously committed to the initiative, which was originally launched in June 2019. The signing was announced by the European Commission.
Dragoș Ciuparu, Romania’s State Secretary for Research, stated at the signing that Romania would “actively contribute to the development of quantum technologies by playing to our strengths: lasers, nanotechnologies and quantum theory, among others.” Ciuparu described quantum communications and quantum technologies as “strategic assets in the 21st century.”
By signing, Romania committed to working with the European Commission and the European Space Agency on the development and deployment of a pan-European quantum communication infrastructure within ten years. The EuroQCI would link sensitive public and private communication assets across the EU to provide a secure communication shield based on quantum technologies, protecting critical infrastructures, financial transactions, and sensitive data in healthcare and national security.