Greece Wins Double EU Recognition for Quantum Communication Projects

The news in Greek

1. συμμετέχω
   Παίρνω μέρος σε κάτι μαζί με άλλους. ↩︎
2. κβαντικός
   Σχετικός με την κβαντική φυσική, έναν κλάδο της επιστήμης που μελετά τα πολύ μικρά σωματίδια. ↩︎
3. επικοινωνία  (f.)
   Η ανταλλαγή πληροφοριών ή μηνυμάτων μεταξύ ανθρώπων ή συστημάτων. ↩︎
4. συνδέω
   Ενώνω δύο ή περισσότερα πράγματα ή μέρη μεταξύ τους. ↩︎
5. βαθμολογία  (f.)
   Ο αριθμός ή το σκορ που δίνεται για να αξιολογηθεί κάτι. ↩︎
6. επιτροπή  (f.)
   Μια ομάδα ανθρώπων που έχουν οριστεί για να κάνουν κάποια εργασία ή να πάρουν αποφάσεις. ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: Which countries does the SEEWQCI programme connect Greece with?

Question 2: Who gave both programmes very high scores?

Vocabulary

Greek	English
συμμετέχω	to participate
κβαντικός	quantum
επικοινωνία  (f.)	communication
συνδέω	to connect
βαθμολογία  (f.)	score
επιτροπή  (f.)	commission

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Greece has secured a prominent position in European quantum communications, with two of its project proposals receiving high scores from the European Commission as part of the continent’s quantum infrastructure initiative, EuroQCI.

The proposals, known as SEEWQCI and TransEuroOGS, scored 24 out of 25 and 23 out of 25 respectively. Greek bodies participating in both projects operate under the political guidance of the Ministry of Digital Governance and the General Secretariat of Telecommunications and Posts, with the National Infrastructures for Research and Technology (GRNET) serving as the coordinating body for implementation.

The SEEWQCI project — which stands for South-East Europe to Western Europe Quantum Communication Infrastructure — is coordinated by Greece and aims to connect national quantum communication infrastructures across Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands. It includes 1,100 kilometres of ground-based quantum key distribution network and five ground optical 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. The project will implement more than 29 cross-border quantum connections and will use the European satellite EAGLE-1 for secure key distribution. Its total budget is €17.8 million, with 50% co-funded by the CEF Digital programme. Out of 24 proposals submitted in the competition, SEEWQCI ranked among the top.

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

Both projects build on the foundations laid by HellasQCI, a national quantum infrastructure project under development since 2023. HellasQCI includes 650 kilometres of quantum key distribution network, 21 quantum communication nodes across government, research, academic, and national security bodies, three ground optical station observatories, and support for post-quantum cryptography technologies.

The double recognition reflects collaboration between public authorities, research institutions, universities, and national security services, and has been acknowledged by the EU as a significant contribution to the EuroQCI framework.