Henna Virkkunen Prioritises Quantum for Europe’s Sovereignty

Finnish MEP and new EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen makes emphatic case for Europe’s leadership in quantum technologies during parliamentary confirmation hearing.

• Virkkunen is due to join the European Commission as Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy for the next five years.

• Virkkunen makes a strong case for quantum to bolster EU sovereignty.

• Possible new Quantum Act could address fragmentation in Europe’s quantum market.

In her opening remarks at a confirmation hearing for the new Commission at the European Parliament in Brussels, Virkkunen outlined an ambitious vision for Europe, promising to launch a long-term EU Quantum Chips Plan aimed at boosting Europe’s quantum capabilities.

In a bid to address the fragmentation in the European quantum market and ensure the EU can pool resources and make the big investments needed to lead globally, Virkkunen also spoke of introducing a Quantum Act.

The Executive Vice-President-designate highlighted the need for a unified approach to quantum technology, noting that while Europe boasts world-class researchers, individual Member States have their own quantum strategies. She emphasised the importance of pooling resources and coordinating efforts across the EU to maximise the potential for quantum innovation. To address this, Virkkunen discussed the possibility of a comprehensive Quantum Plan, potentially followed by a Quantum Act, to streamline investments and collaboration.

Virkkunen emphasised the need for the EU to address target technology leakages, including in critical areas like quantum. She highlighted the importance of safeguarding Europe’s technological assets by reducing dependencies, securing supply chains, and ensuring that advances in quantum and other frontier technologies remain protected.

Her words echoed the Quantum Flagship Strategic Research and Industry Agenda SRIA 2030 roadmap, which calls to end reliance on outside nations for developing essential components and hardware and position Europe as the world’s first ‘Quantum Valley’.

The Executive Vice President-designate highlighted the critical importance of quantum technologies, declaring them central to her mission, alongside AI, cloud, and space technologies. Praising Europe’s ‘super-talented’ quantum researchers, she said: “Quantum is an area where we can be positive and optimistic in Europe.”

Critical to competitiveness

In her final responses to the confirmation hearing, Virkkunen emphasised that “Technological leadership is crucial for our competitiveness”. The remark echoed her earlier written response that quantum technology is “critical to the EU’s sovereignty, competitiveness, and defence capacities” on the global stage.

In her written responses, Virkkunen spoke about collaborating with Member States and key European industry players to accelerate the growth of the EU’s quantum ecosystem, attract investment and drive the industrialisation of quantum technologies.

Dr Thierry Botter, Executive Director of the industry pan-European association, the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC), said: “The European Quantum Industry Consortium strongly believes in the proposal outlined by Executive Vice President-designate Virkkunen during her hearing. The measure will strengthen the EU’s position in the growing global quantum economy, establishing Europe as a central hub for quantum development.”

On 6^th December 2023, the European Declaration on Quantum Technologies was launched, which intends to position Europe as the leading region globally for quantum excellence and innovation. The Declaration set the stage for greater EU cooperation, investment, and innovation in this critical field.

With quantum technologies poised to disrupt industries, transform economies, and address global challenges, the EU stands ready to lead the way in harnessing its transformative potential.