{"text":[[{"start":10.89,"text":"The UK and the EU plan to soon start talks aimed at London’s inclusion in Brussels’ new multibillion-euro fund for tech companies as part of efforts to reset relations and give a boost to Britain’s economy."}],[{"start":27.69,"text":"The €5bn Scaleup Europe Fund, which is set to start distributing money in the coming months, will invest in promising European companies in highly competitive sectors including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and semiconductors, as the continent seeks to narrow the gap on tech development with the US and China. "}],[{"start":51.28,"text":"UK business secretary Peter Kyle and tech secretary Liz Kendall are hoping to secure the UK’s involvement in the fund as part of the Labour government’s efforts to draw closer to the EU at a time of global economic turmoil, according to people briefed on the plan."}],[{"start":69.46000000000001,"text":"Chancellor Rachel Reeves supports the initiative, according to officials, though they cautioned that negotiations were unlikely to be finalised ahead of the EU-UK summit in the early summer."}],[{"start":84.19000000000001,"text":"A government spokesperson said the UK “remains open to discussions with the EU and other international partners to further drive innovation”."}],[{"start":94.38000000000001,"text":"Talks for the UK to join a €140bn EU defence fund broke down last year after London refused to pay billions of euros in fees to take part."}],[{"start":106.03000000000002,"text":"Brussels was keen for UK companies to be included in the initiative as a way to entice more private funding to back it, one of the people said. Part of the funding will come from the EU’s Horizon fund, one of the largest public research funding programmes in the world with a budget of nearly £100bn, which the UK is already part of."}],[{"start":129.28000000000003,"text":"Reeves vowed in February to seize the “biggest prize” in global trade with a new push to build ties with the EU, making it a key part of her revamped growth strategy."}],[{"start":142.42000000000002,"text":"The UK has long been criticised for failing to provide the requisite investment in tech companies to allow them to grow and flourish in Britain, rather than having to relocate overseas where it is easier to secure capital."}],[{"start":157.15,"text":"Two people briefed on the discussions around the fund said the UK government believed it made strategic sense for Britain and the EU to put a mechanism in place to jointly scale up promising tech companies and ventures, including for example in driverless taxis being developed in Britain which could then be rolled out across Europe. "}],[{"start":180.4,"text":"This kind of co-investment could help Europe to compete with rapid technological development in the US and Asia."}],[{"start":188.84,"text":"Companies that received investment from the fund would have to maintain their headquarters and main business operations within Europe."}],[{"start":198.09,"text":"UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Wednesday that he intended to use the summit this summer to not just “make good on what we’ve already agreed but to go closer to the EU in the relations that we have”."}],[{"start":214.73000000000002,"text":"But ministers have also come under fire for failing to flesh out details of their vision for greater alignment with the bloc, including timelines, milestones and priorities."}],[{"start":227.92000000000002,"text":"The European Commission is a founding investor in the Scaleup Europe Fund, alongside private companies including Novo Holdings, CriteriaCaixa and Santander. The Commission is currently in the process of selecting a fund manager to be in charge of investment advice and portfolio management."}],[{"start":256.13,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1776335349_2345.mp3"}