The UK could gain access to the European Innovation Council's equity investment fund by the end of this year, the EU's commissioner for startups told the Financial Times on Tuesday.
The move that would open British startups to one of Europe's largest sources of deep-tech capital for the first time since Brexit.
Ekaterina Zaharieva, European commissioner for start-ups, research and innovation, told the FT that the move was in the "mutual interest" of both sides but would require a treaty change to reverse a UK decision to exclude participation in the fund.
The EIC fund sits within Horizon Europe, the €96bn EU research programme that the UK rejoined as an associate country in 2024.
Despite that association, UK-based startups are not currently eligible to receive equity from the fund.
Zaharieva told the FT that UK investors already co-invest alongside it – committing around €200m to date – but cannot deploy that capital into UK companies through the vehicle.
The current investment cycle runs until 2027. The next, which runs to 2034, is expected to surpass €4bn, and Zaharieva said talks could conclude in time for the UK to join at its start.
London is also in parallel negotiations to join the separate €5bn Scaleup Europe Fund. Both funds are targeting alignment ahead of the next EU funding cycle.
Industry body techUK described the continued exclusion of UK companies from EIC equity instruments as a "significant gap," particularly for frontier technology firms.
Sabina Ciofu, techUK's international policy and strategy lead, told the FT there was "strong mutual interest" in enabling Europe and the UK to better support high-growth companies in AI, quantum, semiconductors, and biotech.
The UK's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said no decisions had been taken while it explored options that are "fair" and represent "best value for both sides."