# Quantum Act Canonical URL: https://digital-acquis.eu/initiative/quantum-act Entry type: initiative Source edition current through: 17 July 2026 (2026-07-17). This is not a page modification date. Status: forthcoming. A delivered initiative is not necessarily legislation in force. Instrument: Law Date as recorded: Q4 2026 Date kind: quarter Status note: quarter starts after 2026-09-06 Promised timeline: Planned for Q2 2026. ## Summary The Act will make the Quantum Europe Strategy operational, fixing fragmentation by aligning EU and national programmes around a shared RTI agenda and targets. It sets EU-level governance and extends the Chips Joint Undertaking’s remit to quantum technologies, coordinating investments across EU programmes. It anchors a three-stage pipeline—Discover; Lab-to-fab via pilot lines, design tools and standards; Apply & use in lead sectors, while scaling pan-European infrastructures in quantum computing, secure communication (EuroQCI) and sensing. The Act backs skills and industrialisation, strengthens supply chains. It also drives standardisation and interoperability and fosters talent attraction. ## Action items (0; complete published list) ## Citing documents - [Commission work programme 2026 + Annex]() — status: not recorded. The 2026 work programme sets out planned legislation and policy initiatives across competitiveness, technology, energy and social policy. It includes changes to company rules, innovation and procurement, together with proposals concerning advanced materials, chips, cloud infrastructure, quantum technology and biotechnology. Other work covers product rules, circularity, energy systems, capital markets and competition procedures. Security and border-management measures sit alongside proposals on jobs, labour mobility, education, digital fairness and audiovisual media. Better regulation and intergenerational fairness are also part of this programme, which records indicative timetables and proposed legal bases. Source document doc-009, action item 100010: > Quantum Act (legislative, Articles 173, 180 and 184 TFEU, Q2 2026) - [European Technological Sovereignty and Digital Infrastruction]() — status: not recorded. Source document doc-011, action item 120041: > Calls on the Commission to conduct an assessment of existing national quantum sandbox frameworks and how existing legislation applies to them in order to prevent market fragmentation; welcomes the announcement of the Quantum Strategy and Quantum Act in the Commission’s Competitiveness Compass; - [One Europe, One Market Roadmap]() — status: delivered. The roadmap organises planned work around simpler rules, a more integrated Single Market, trade, affordable energy and the digital transition. It sets milestones for measures affecting company formation, investment, procurement, products, research and labour mobility. Energy priorities cover grids, infrastructure, security and decarbonisation, while the digital programme includes business wallets, communications networks, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, chips and quantum technology. Trade agreements and measures addressing supply-chain dependencies complete the programme. By placing these initiatives in a common timetable, the roadmap connects the policy agenda with specific stages of legislative work and investment projects. Source document doc-013, action item 140050: > Quantum Act (Proposal: Q2 2026) Q3 2027 - [Competitiveness Compass]() — status: not recorded. The Competitiveness Compass brings together work on innovation, industrial transition and the conditions for businesses to grow in Europe. Its agenda spans startups, strategic technologies, research and investment, alongside affordable energy, cleaner industry and circular production. Measures on the Single Market, simpler rules, procurement and standardisation accompany this sectoral work. The programme also includes trade partnerships, raw-material supplies, security and preparedness. Skills, labour mobility and quality jobs connect the economic agenda with workforce needs. The programme combines strategies, legislative proposals, investment initiatives and coordination measures across these policy areas. Source document doc-019, action item 180007: > EU Quantum Strategy [Q2 2025] and a Quantum Act [Q4 2025] - [Quantum Europe Strategy]() — status: delivered. The Quantum Europe Strategy combines research, infrastructure, industrial development and skills measures across quantum computing, communication and sensing. It proposes a Quantum Act and a wider quantum remit for EuroHPC, supported by technology roadmaps, pilot production lines, design facilities and standards work. Experimental networks and specialised infrastructure would help develop and test applications. The programme also addresses supply-chain vulnerabilities and links between civilian research, space and defence. Skills training, researcher placements, talent mobility and international cooperation are intended to strengthen the people and partnerships needed to develop quantum technologies in Europe. Source document doc-042, action item 370002: > Present the Quantum Act proposal [2026] - [Strengthening EU Economy Security]() — status: delivered. Source document doc-069, action item 550031: > Incentivise companies to reduce dependencies in emerging technology areas as part of the upcoming Chips Act 2.0, Quantum Act, Cloud and AI Development Act and Commission Strategy on Open Source. - [The 2026 Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report]() — status: not recorded. Source document doc-087, action item 610004: > The Commission is putting forward measures to close the innovation gap. The 28th regime (EU Inc.) will provide a single set of rules for companies to set up, operate and grow throughout the EU, creating fertile ground for start-ups, scale-ups and European unicorns. The European Innovation Act will expedite the market journey for innovations across sectors, while the multi-billion Scaleup Europe Fund will partner with private investors to aid company growth. The European Research Area Act will seek to remove barriers to knowledge sharing and promote the 5th freedom. The Digital Networks Act will reduce fragmentation in the Single Market. The Cybersecurity Act, the Quantum Act and the Cloud and AI Development Act will strengthen the sovereignty and security of European technologies and infrastructures. The implementation of the Union of Skills aims to build skills for quality jobs. ## Current developments Latest updates from Digital Policy Alert and Global Trade Alert. - [Quantum Act]() — Digital Policy Alert; source updated: 2025-11-26; relationship: related context. ## Associated policy priorities - [Research, Technology & Industrial Capacity]() ## Broader policy context (shared priority; not a direct citation) - [Advanced Materials Act]() — status: forthcoming. Europe’s competitiveness in the green and digital transitions will depend on its ability to develop, produce and deploy next-generation materials at scale. To achieve this, the Commission will propose an Advanced Materials Act establishing clear framework conditions for the entire value chain; from fundamental research and prototyping to manufacturing and market uptake. The Act will focus on accelerating industrialisation, de-risking private investment and securing resilient supply chains for materials critical to clean technologies, energy, defence and space. By providing a coherent strategic framework, it aims to reduce dependencies, boost technological sovereignty and position Europe as a global leader in advanced materials innovation. - [Charter of Access for Industrial Users to Research and Technology Infrastructures]() — status: forthcoming. This initiative will standardise and simplify industrial access to Europe’s research and technology infrastructures so innovators can prototype, test and scale faster. It will set common, transparent access and contractual terms (e.g. IP use, pricing, liability, data handling) across borders and introduce a streamlined entry point for companies, including startups and scaleups. Linked to the AI Factories ecosystem, the Charter will be backed by dedicated EU support to make AI computing facilities affordable for SMEs. Complementary guidance will clarify how universities and public research organisations can grant access under State aid rules. Together, these measures cut fragmentation, lower transaction costs and speed time-to-market. - [EU Bioeconomy Strategy]() — status: delivered. The EU Bioeconomy Strategy combines regulatory, investment and market actions to support sustainable and circular bio-based activity. The Commission plans work on biotechnology, construction-product standards, biomass monitoring, bio-based plastics, public procurement, biogas and biomethane, and industrial symbiosis. It will also establish forums and investment arrangements, support blue-bioeconomy innovation, provide practical guidance for land managers, and pursue international cooperation, stakeholder dialogue and EU-wide monitoring. - [European Biotech Act 1]() — status: in progress. As a cornerstone of the EU’s Life Sciences Strategy, the law will make Europe the most attractive place for biotech by 2030 by speeding approvals and risk assessments without compromising safety, unlocking risk-tolerant finance and biomanufacturing scale, building EU-wide clusters/infrastructure, closing skills gaps, and enabling trusted AI/data use (incl. supercomputing and EHDS links). It tackles single-market fragmentation across health, agri-food, industrial and marine biotech, strengthening competitiveness and economic security. Expected impacts of the law includes faster time-to-market, deeper investment pipelines, resilient supply chains and environmental benefits, supported by strong EU governance. - [European Biotech Act 2]() — status: forthcoming. The proposed European Biotech Act aims to make Europe's health-biotechnology sector more competitive through easier funding, quicker regulatory processes and stronger safeguards. It would support industry, manufacturing and research, especially start-ups and SMEs; facilitate AI, data and digital solutions; simplify rules on clinical trials and cell and gene therapies; and introduce biosecurity measures. The Commission says the Act should help patients gain timelier, broader access to treatments and products. In 2026 it will address the wider biotechnology sector. - [European Centre of Expertise on Research Security]() — status: forthcoming. EU work is underway to establish a Centre of Expertise on Research Security, investing in the evidence base for policymaking and creating a community of practice. It sits alongside a due-diligence platform in development to help universities choose international partners. The Commission presents these measures as support for open but secure research cooperation, responding to risks including foreign interference, malign influence and misuse. - [European Innovation Act]() — status: forthcoming. It will create horizontal, Single-Market-wide conditions to accelerate deployment and diffusion of innovation. The law will (i) simplify and make rules more innovation-friendly (incl. regulatory sandboxes), (ii) unlock IP-backed finance and improve access to EU/national funding, (iii) open research & technology infrastructures to companies, (iv) make public/private procurement more supportive of novel solutions, (v) improve commercialisation of publicly funded R&I (i.e. IP, standardisation, certification), (vi) enable talent attraction/retention (e.g. employee ownership schemes), and (vii) establish EU–Member State coordination of innovation policy, helping to close the EU’s innovation gap. - [European Innovation Council (EIC) Reform]() — status: not recorded. The council will be reformed to operate more strategically and ambitiously, inspired by the US ARPA model. It will shift towards challenge-driven, staged funding for breakthrough, high-risk technologies, focusing on strategic EU priorities and research excellence. The reform will simplify procedures, strengthen the Trusted Investor Network, and build closer ties with Europe’s unicorns to improve policy feedback loops. By combining public and private capital, the EIC will accelerate the scale-up of deep-tech companies in critical sectors and better align innovation funding with Europe’s competitiveness, technological sovereignty, and security objectives. - [European Research Area Act & ERIC Reform]() — status: forthcoming. The Act Act will realise a “fifth freedom” by enabling the free movement of researchers, knowledge and technology across a single EU R&I market, anchored in TFEU Articles 179 and 182(5). It will (1) secure national commitments and new mechanisms to reach the 3% of GDP R&D target; (2) align EU–national investments and priorities around strategic technologies; and (3) upgrade framework conditions—attractive careers and mobility, open science and data access, a stronger legal basis for research infrastructures, and better knowledge valorisation. The Act will safeguard fundamental values, bolster research security, and clarify cooperation with third countries. - [European Strategy for AI in Science]() — status: delivered. Adopted alongside the Apply AI Strategy, this initiative fast-tracks responsible AI uptake across disciplines and builds the foundations of RAISE (i.e. a virtual European institute that pools talent, compute, data and funding for “science for AI” and “AI in science”). It launches Thematic Networks of Excellence and RAISE Doctoral Networks; secures priority access to EuroHPC AI Factories and future AI Gigafactories; and links Data Labs with EOSC and other data spaces. Ethics-by-design guidance and “living” rules govern use, while ERA-based coordination, indicators and summits align Member States and industry. Horizon Europe anchors early actions and an investment agenda for 2026-27. - [European Strategy on Research and Technology Infrastructures]() — status: delivered. The strategy aims to improve Europe's research and technology infrastructure capacity, investment and access. It covers criteria and roadmaps for infrastructures of European interest, funding coordination, upgrades, transnational collaboration and services for startups and scaleups. It also addresses FAIR and AI-ready research data, an enhanced EOSC Federation, coordinated governance, skills, international partnerships, resilience, and trusted storage, processing and sharing of critical data. - [Horizon Europe 2026-2027]() — status: not recorded. The next work programme will channel major investments into Europe’s industrial and scientific transformation. A €600 million flagship call under the Clean Industrial Deal will bridge R&I and deployment, fostering synergies with the Innovation Fund and supporting fusion through new PPPs. In life sciences, the Commission will establish a network of ATMP Centres of Excellence (€4 million), pilot stepwise collaborative health research funding, and invest €50 million in multi-modal genAI for biomedical research. €170 million will support a new health–climate agenda, complemented by global research collaboration and foresight on life sciences skills. - [Life Sciences Strategy]() — status: delivered. The Life Sciences Strategy addresses fragmented funding and innovation systems, regulatory complexity and slow market uptake. Its actions include the Biotech Act, coordinated work on new biomedical research methods, a research and innovation agenda for food systems, and a data assembly for cross-regulatory cooperation. The Commission presents these measures as support for innovation, economic growth and job creation in European life sciences. - [RAISE – European AI Research Council]() — status: not recorded. RAISE has entered a pilot phase as the Resource for Artificial Intelligence Science in Europe. The European Commission and the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU organised the European AI in Science Summit in Copenhagen, where Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva announced its launch. --- [Reading guide and interpretation notes]() · [Methodology]()