EuroQCI and Europe’s Quantum-Secure Connectivity Bet
How terrestrial and space-based QKD are becoming instruments of European sovereignty
Europe’s EuroQCI programme marks a strategic attempt to turn quantum communication from an experimental technology into a sovereign infrastructure for secure connectivity. Its significance lies not only in quantum key distribution itself, but in the architecture being built around it: national fibre-based QKD networks, satellite links, testing and certification facilities, industrial supply chains, and integration with IRIS², the EU’s secure connectivity system. The central question is whether QKD should be understood as an emerging commercial cybersecurity market or as a strategic public good, designed first for governments, critical infrastructures and security-sensitive institutions before any broader private market can emerge.