Greece Wins Double EU Recognition for Quantum Communication Projects

The news in Greek

1. σημαντικός
   Κάτι που έχει μεγάλη αξία ή σπουδαιότητα. ↩︎
2. έργο  (n.)
   Μια οργανωμένη δραστηριότητα ή σχέδιο που γίνεται για έναν συγκεκριμένο σκοπό. ↩︎
3. κβαντικός
   Κάτι που σχετίζεται με την κβαντική φυσική, έναν τομέα της επιστήμης που μελετά τα πολύ μικρά σωματίδια. ↩︎
4. επικοινωνία  (f.)
   Η μεταφορά πληροφοριών ή μηνυμάτων μεταξύ ανθρώπων ή συστημάτων. ↩︎
5. συνολικός
   Κάτι που αφορά το σύνολο, δηλαδή όλα μαζί. ↩︎
6. προϋπολογισμός  (m.)
   Το συνολικό ποσό χρημάτων που έχει οριστεί για να ξοδευτεί σε ένα έργο ή σχέδιο. ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: What are the names of the two Greek quantum communication projects mentioned in the summary?

Question 2: What is the combined budget of the two projects?

Vocabulary

Greek	English
σημαντικός	important
έργο  (n.)	project
κβαντικός	quantum
επικοινωνία  (f.)	communication
συνολικός	total
προϋπολογισμός  (m.)	budget

Read the full story

Greece has secured a prominent position in European quantum communications, with two of its project proposals receiving exceptionally high scores from the European Commission as part of the continent-wide EuroQCI (European Quantum Communication Infrastructure) initiative.

The two projects, SEEWQCI and TransEuroOGS, scored 24 out of 25 and 23 out of 25 respectively. Greek bodies involved in both proposals are guided politically by the Ministry of Digital Governance and the General Secretariat of Telecommunications and Posts, with GRNET (the National Infrastructures for Research and Technology network) serving as implementation coordinator.

The SEEWQCI project — which stands for South-East Europe to Western Europe Quantum Communication Infrastructure — is coordinated by Greece and aims to link national quantum communication infrastructures in Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands. The project includes 1,100 km of ground-based quantum key distribution (QKD) network and five optical ground stations, including observatories at Chelmos (National Observatory of Athens), Skinakas (Foundation for Research and Technology), and Cholomontas (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), as well as stations in Cyprus and the Netherlands. It will deliver more than 29 cross-border quantum connections and will make use of the European satellite EAGLE-1. Its total budget stands at €17.8 million, with 50% co-funding from the CEF Digital programme.

TransEuroOGS, coordinated by Germany with participation from Greece, Ireland, and Luxembourg, focuses on the technical harmonisation and interoperability of European optical ground stations in preparation for the EAGLE-1 and SAGA satellite missions. Its total budget is approximately €19 million, also with 50% CEF Digital co-funding.

Both successes build on the HellasQCI project, which has been under development since 2023. That project includes 650 km of QKD network, 21 quantum communication nodes across government, research, academic, and national security bodies, and three observatory ground stations. The double recognition is described as a result of collaboration between public authorities, research institutions, universities, and national security services.