Quantum Preparedness as a Constitutional Obligation for the European Union

This article argues that preparing the European Union for the advent of quantum computing constitutes a constitutional obligation rooted in art. 2 TEU and in the duty to preserve the effectiveness of fundamental rights enshrined in arts. 7 and 8 of the Charter. By demonstrating that quantum machines will render current public-key cryptographic schemes obsolete, the paper identifies a positive obligation of technological foresight incumbent upon the Union’s institutions and Member States. Building on the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice and on the emerging scholarship on encryption governance and human rights, the article conceptualises a right to adequate encryption as a corollary of the right to data protection. It then advances two institutional proposals. The first is a two-stage process of normative integration of the EU digital acquis, ranging from immediately practicable sectoral interventions to the prospective horizon of a European Digital Code. The second is a Quantum Secure Data Protocol (QSDP), conceived as a modular, horizontal framework of minimum cryptographic requirements capable of operating either within the Code or as a free-standing instrument. The article concludes by situating quantum preparedness within the broader discourse on European digital sovereignty, reconceived as a form of constitutional vigilance.