Minister for EU Relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, today welcomed EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency, Maroš Šefčovič, ahead of his visit to the United Kingdom.
In a press release following the visit, the ministry confirmed UK scientists, researchers and businesses working on the latest innovations in quantum and space technologies have now been given access to more Horizon Europe funding, under the new 2025 Horizon Europe Work Programme pre-published last week.
These are technologies that will be instrumental to the future of the economy: quantum computing alone is projected to deliver $5-10 billion of benefits globally over the next 3-5 years, while since 2015 the UK has attracted more private investment in space than any other country outside of the United States.
The UK gained access to the vast majority (95%+) of Horizon funding calls, when it associated to the programme in 2024, with some very limited exceptions on some emerging technologies.
Today’s breakthrough comes after a period of constructive collaboration between UK and EU teams and means that more British experts working on space and quantum can now build consortia with research partners across Europe, and confidently bid for a share of the budget that is available through Horizon overall.