Ceri Morgan has a clear brief as His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Europe: to help businesses take full advantage of the opportunities created by the UK government’s Modern Industrial Strategy and to drive greater economic growth across the whole of the UK.
There are new areas for tech investment across the country to promote via the AI Opportunities Action Plan, and new relationships with European partners to build to solidify the UK’s position as the leading European investment hub. Morgan has been busy since taking up the role in September.
In an interview with Sifted, she unpacks how the government’s UK-Europe partnerships are revitalising tech collaboration and introducing a new wave of growth that’s making the UK an even more attractive place to build and scale a business.
How do you see the UK’s partnership with Europe strengthening over the next five years?
The UK’s $1tn tech economy is already the third largest in the world and we can take that further through closer collaboration with our European neighbours.
New policies are making it easier than ever before for talented people and businesses to set up, grow, commercialise and scale in the UK. We have a funding landscape that is bountiful which combines the power of government backing alongside private equity and a stock market. We’re putting all the conditions in place to create the UK’s first $1tn business, and European relationships will play a massive role in that.
For European businesses, this means faster access to the UK’s world-class innovation clusters, R&D funding and smoother routes to commercialisation.
Across Europe, there are enormous opportunities to work together on science and tech breakthroughs through platforms like Horizon Europe, the world’s largest programme of research collaboration which the UK is associated with again.
Over the next five years, collaboration between the UK and Europe will move from individual projects to more integrated ecosystems. We’ll see deeper partnerships in frontier technologies such as AI, quantum and semiconductors where shared infrastructure and standards make scaling easier. For European businesses, this means faster access to the UK’s world-class innovation clusters, R&D funding and smoother routes to commercialisation. For investors, it creates a de-risked pipeline of high-value projects backed by Europe’s most dynamic tech economies.
In December, the UK Government announced plans to work closely with Germany to unlock the potential of quantum technology, with £6m set aside in joint funding for quantum research. Can you tell us more?
The UK-Germany Bilateral Cooperation Agreement, signed last year, is the most significant treaty between the two countries in over 80 years. It focuses on strengthening cross-border collaboration in science, technology and innovation.
In December, the UK and Germany agreed on a focused package to accelerate quantum innovation. This included £6m in joint R&D funding split between Innovate UK and the association of German engineers, VDI. An additional £8m will be used to strengthen Fraunhofer’s applied photonics centre in Glasgow.
Through the progressive and ambitious policies in our Modern Industrial Strategy we are making it quicker and easier to invest in and do business with the UK.
Together, this gives businesses a clearer route from lab to market, co-funded projects and access to world class photonics capabilities.
For European companies and investors, the upside is practical and near-term. Through the progressive and ambitious policies in our Modern Industrial Strategy we are making it quicker and easier to invest in and do business with the UK.
Similarly, in November, the UK Government signed an agreement with the Netherlands for plans to unlock the potential of AI, quantum and semiconductors. What will this partnership achieve?
By combining the UK’s research strengths and design expertise with the Netherlands’ industrial capabilities, we’re creating an integrated innovation corridor that benefits both sides.
It means easier access to UK tech clusters, joint R&D opportunities and faster routes to market in emerging sectors like clean tech and advanced manufacturing.
For investors, it offers a more secure, scalable environment to back high-value technologies with cross-border reach. The Netherlands is a significant investor, with about £183bn worth of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) stock in the UK. Together, we’re building a trusted ecosystem that drives growth, resilience and leadership in the technologies that will define the future.
Can you share more about other tech partnerships the UK government has within Europe?
The UK-France Industrial Strategy Partnership, announced in July 2025, is the UK's first and largest industrial strategy partnership and aims to harness the drive and ambition presented in the UK’s Industrial Strategy and the French investment plan, France 2030.
It will build on the impactful collaboration which already exists between the UK and France on economic policy. This work has already facilitated the planning of concrete exercises, such as the stress test on semiconductors carried out last year.
These kinds of agreements don’t just strengthen ties, they make Europe and the UK more globally competitive.
A key component of the partnership is strategic collaboration. The UK’s Industrial Strategy Advisory Council joins forces with France’s Conseil National de l’Industrie to share best practices on supply chain resilience and digital transformation.
These kinds of agreements don’t just strengthen ties, they make Europe and the UK more globally competitive.
What does the UK-France partnership mean for European scaleups and investors?
There are four key elements.
- Deep R&D cooperation. There will be prime access to R&D across borders.
- Access to collaborative projects and bilateral funding opportunities.
- Risk-mitigated pipelines in frontier tech. With clear pipelines in AI, clean energy and advanced manufacturing, with matched public backing, investors gain a more secure route into emerging technologies.
- This isn’t just another partnership, it’s a dynamic gateway for European innovators and investors to scale faster, share risk, and lead globally.
In May of last year, the government unveiled its UK-EU collaboration on AI which included inviting public research organisations to apply to host the UK’s AI factory Antenna. Can you talk a bit more about this as well as plans set out in the AI Opportunities Plan to collaborate with Europe and strengthen AI opportunities?
I'm super proud of what we've achieved since the AI Opportunities Action Plan was published in January 2025. We’re only just beginning laying the groundwork for a long term vision. New dedicated AI growth zones are just the start and are creating opportunities throughout the UK.
UK and European partnerships are crucial to delivering some of the ambitious goals we've set out in the plan and there are multiple avenues for collaboration. The UK was selected to host an AI Factory Antenna, strengthening UK’s participation in the EU’s AI Factory network.
Ensure the UK remains a leading, trusted, collaborative partner in the European AI ecosystem.
The Antenna will be hosted at the National Supercomputing Centre in Edinburgh in partnership with the HammerHAI AI Factory in Stuttgart. The Antenna will accelerate the adoption of AI in sectors such as health, fintech, energy and robotics, in collaboration with European partners.
Together, these steps are designed not just to boost innovation, but to ensure the UK remains a leading, trusted, collaborative partner in the European AI ecosystem.
We are committed to delivering our long-term plan at pace, creating the conditions for the UK to be the best place in the world to build and scale a business. We want Europe’s best businesses and innovators to partner with us, join us and realise their global ambitions here.
