UK and EU announce start of negotiations on UK participation in European Innovation Council Fund

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, have agreed to commence negotiations on UK participation in the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, including the Scaleup Europe Fund.

The announcement was made on 04/05/2026 after a meeting between von der Leyen and Starmer at the European Political Community summit in Armenia, aiming to "discuss joint commitment to improve the relationship between the EU and UK to deliver for consumers, businesses and collective European security".

The EIC Fund is the venture capital investment arm of the EIC, aiming to support European deep tech innovation. It is financed by the European Commission with the investment advice of the European Investment Bank and was established in 2020.

With a capitalisation of over €4 billion, it hopes to bridge the gap between public and private financing, supporting Europe’s startups and scaleups and driving Europe’s competitiveness and innovation leadership.

The Scaleup Europe Fund is part of the existing EIC Fund umbrella structure, but with a fully…