06 Dec 2023
11 EU Member States sign European Declaration on Quantum Technologies
On 5 December 2023, in the presence of European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, the Spanish Presidency issued a declaration to strengthen collaboration among Member States and with the Commission on the development of a world-class quantum technology ecosystem across Europe.
The declaration recognises the strategic importance of quantum technologies for the scientific and industrial competitiveness of the EU. The aim is to make Europe the ‘quantum valley’ of the world, the leading region globally for quantum excellence and innovation.
In the next few years, quantum technologies will have far-reaching effects on our economy and society. They should, for instance, make it possible to diagnose diseases more quickly by looking inside cells, develop unbreakable encryption to send sensitive information safely.
11 Member States have endorsed the declaration (France, Belgium, Croatia, Greece, Finland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Malta, Estonia and Spain), with more expected. They have pledged to work together and with the Commission on a number of key areas including coordination of European, national and regional research and development programmes, accelerating the transition from lab to fab, building pan-European quantum infrastructures. The signatory Member States agree to discuss the objectives of this declaration on a regular basis and commit to start working together and with the European Commission to develop a plan of actions for their implementation. This plan would include ambitious concrete targets, which would complement the European goals for quantum technologies already enshrined in the Digital Decade strategy.
The Commission encourages other Member States to join this common effort.
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