In April 2025, CEPS launched a Task Force on Strengthening the EU Transition to a Quantum-Safe World. The objective of this initiative was to draw attention to the technical, market, governance, and policy challenges involved in Europe’s transition to quantum safe. The Task Force, designed as a multi-stakeholder platform, brought together eleven private organisations, eleven EU institutions and agencies, seven universities and think tanks, one national research agency, and one civil society organisation (see Annex I for the full list of participants).
The group aimed to develop practical guidelines for governments and businesses to strengthen and accelerate the EU’s transition to quantum safe. Its discussions addressed the technical, managerial, and governance challenges associated with implementing this process. These efforts resulted in a set of policy recommendations aimed at EU institutions, Member States, the private sector, and the research community to guide Europe’s secure transition toward quantum resilience. The transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) poses an urgent strategic challenge for Europe. It requires careful coordination and long-term planning across both the public and private sectors. Quantum computers capable of breaking today’s cryptographic systems may emerge as early as the next decade. Yet transitioning to PQC is a lengthy and complex process. Past experiences with security-standard migrations suggest such transformations can take 10 to 15 years.
Despite this urgency, recent surveys by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) show that most European stakeholders remain underprepared. Only a small share has begun investing in post-quantum solutions, and overall awareness remains low. At the Member State level, Germany, France, and the Netherlands have taken leading roles by issuing guidance and launching PQC pilot projects, both through national roadmaps and within the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Cooperation Group. However, progress across the EU remains uneven, and the Union still lacks a coherent, unified transition framework like that of the United States. Against this backdrop, the Task Force calls for strengthening the EU’s transition process towards quantum safety.
To read a CEPS Expert Commentary that summarises the key findings of this Task Force Report, please click here.
