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 United Kingdom Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, have agreed to commence negotiations on UK participation in the European Innovation Council (EIC European innovation council ) 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 European Union 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 private-owned and market-based fund manager. It aims to make major investments in fast-growing companies in strategic tech sectors across Europe.

The announcement was made after the UK and the EU finalised an agreement to bring the UK back into Erasmus+ in 2027 on 15/04/2026.

The UK and Commission's leaders also stated that they were looking "ahead to the EU-UK summit and agreed on the importance of being ambitious in what we could achieve together for the benefit of both sides".