UK Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said he discussed this possibility with EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič during a meeting in Brussels, which also focused on other bilateral issues.
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“We have enormous opportunities to cooperate,” Kyle said at a conference in the Belgian capital. “For example, a technology partnership.”
According to him, with its huge capital markets, London could play a key role in helping technology companies expand to compete with US and Asian giants.
“We are the capital of European company creation. We are the capital of European unicorns,” Kyle later told reporters, referring to the creation of new companies and startups valued at over $1 billion.
“But I want to go much further, and by cooperating with European countries and the European Union, we have many more opportunities to enter the global market,” he said.
In September, the UK signed a similar – though later suspended – agreement with the US on aligning innovation and promoting private sector investment.
The idea of repeating this with the EU arose as London and Brussels carefully negotiated other issues related to the “reset” of relations promised by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, aiming to boost the country’s sluggish economy.
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Kyle met with Šefčovič ahead of an EU-UK summit. However, the date of such a meeting has not yet been confirmed, but it will probably take place in July.
London and Brussels hope to present several agreements at this event, for example, on food and animal safety standards, a youth mobility scheme, and the linking of their emissions trading systems.
However, negotiations have encountered numerous obstacles.
It is stated that the UK wants to set a limit on the number of visas issued under the mobility scheme and does not want to pay into some EU funds, as required by Brussels.
In turn, the EU demands greater access to UK universities for its 18-30 year olds and that they be allowed to pay the same tuition fees as local students.
Kyle said that after what he called a “positive” and “energetic” conversation with Šefčovič, he feels “hope and optimism” about the upcoming meeting.
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