5 years on: timely EU action to support COVID-19 research

On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. On the very same day, the European Commission launched its first emergency call for research proposals to fight the virus. This was just the first of many exceptional research and innovation actions undertaken by the European Union to address this crisis.?

In two years, the European Union launched 13 calls supporting research on COVID-19 via its Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe funding programmes. This led to 58 awarded projects, with a total budget of more than €300 million. These projects covered a full range of research and innovation activities, from basic research to the development of diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines, as well as exploring the pandemic's behavioural and socio-economic impacts.?

In addition, the Commission launched the EU strategy on COVID-19 therapeutics and the EU Vaccines Strategy to advance the research and development of these critical medicinal products, aiming to reduce hospitalisations, speed up recoveries, and save lives. To accelerate progress, a Therapeutics Innovation Booster was launched to identify the most promising candidates for COVID-19 treatment and provide recommendations to expedite their development.??

Europe’s comprehensive and collaborative research response??

When the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world, the European Union's research community responded with unprecedented speed and collaboration to tackle the complex challenges posed by the novel coronavirus. Let’s explore how EU-funded projects were crucial to the fight against COVID-19 and how they laid the groundwork for a healthier, more resilient future.?

Detecting and tracking the virus?

At the start of the pandemic, researchers focused on improving ways to detect the virus and understand how it spread. EU-funded projects acted quickly, developing diagnostic tools, and exploring innovative therapies. For example, the VEO project helped to develop the world's first diagnostic tool for COVID-19 and tracked new variants. Meanwhile, I-MOVE-COVID-19 and EpiPose set up a surveillance network covering 9 EU countries and over 250 hospitals, monitoring the virus’ trajectory and offering insights into its societal impact. Other projects, such as CONVAT and IRIS-COV worked on developing faster and more accurate tools to detect COVID-19.?

Developing treatments and vaccines?

As the need for treatments and vaccines became urgent, scientists used advanced technologies to develop safe and effective vaccines in record time. A major breakthrough was the mRNA vaccines, which saved millions of lives. This success was built on over a decade of EU investment in mRNA technology, paving the way for the rapid creation of the BioNTech vaccine.?

The search for effective treatments saw remarkable collaboration. Projects such as SCORE, Solnatide and EXSCALATE4CoV identified new therapeutic candidates, while RECOVER and EU-RESPONSE ran clinical trials that shaped disease management strategies. On the vaccine front, OPENCORONA and Prevent-nCoV explored innovative platforms, with one vaccine now progressing towards global commercialisation with the commercial acquisition of Bavarian Nordic.?

Strengthening medical technologies?

The pandemic highlighted the need for robust medical technologies. ENVISION and ICU4Covid developed AI-powered digital tools to optimize diagnostics and treatment. CleanAir created unique air disinfection technologies for medical facilities, while projects such as? RESERVIST and Eur3ka provided solutions to address critical shortages of medical supplies and equipment.?

Enhancing public health response and protecting vulnerable populations?

Researchers did not just focus on medical interventions. ORCHESTRA went further, identifying risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection and contributing to our understanding of Long-COVID, while helping to define early vaccination and treatment strategies. Projects like VERDI provided scientific evidence about vaccine effectiveness in children, while CoVICIS helped understand vaccination protection for immunocompromised patients. EuCARE developed a non-invasive testing method that allowed over 7 million children to continue attending schools and daycare facilities safely.?

Understanding behavioural and socio-economic impacts?

In addition to developing medical countermeasures, understanding the public’s response to new health measures—such as vaccine uptake, behavioural changes, and social distancing—became a key focus of research. Equally important was assessing the social and economic impacts of these measures, particularly on vulnerable populations. The projects RESPOND, SHARE-COVID19, PERISCOPE, RESISTIRé and COVINFORM provided critical policy recommendations addressing mental health, healthcare access, and the disproportionate effects on vulnerable populations. They highlighted how the pandemic worsened existing social inequalities.??

The Commission expert group on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender equality in EU R&I report highlighted how the pandemic worsened inequalities in EU R&I, particularly for women and underrepresented groups, and set out recommendations for a gender-sensitive response and recovery.?

Fostering data sharing and global collaboration?

From the beginning, sharing information was key to beating the virus. The EU and EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute launched the COVID-19 Data Portal, a global platform for scientists to share data openly. Projects such as RECODID and ORCHESTRA enabled the sharing of samples and data across infectious disease studies.?

The way forward: towards a European Partnership for pandemic preparedness?

The EU’s rapid and collaborative research response to the COVID-19 pandemic showed once again the vital role of R&I in tackling emerging health threats. But it also revealed challenges, such as the difficulty in coordinating large-scale, multi-country clinical trials, with fragmented, unilateral efforts proving inefficient and costly.?

To overcome these issues and to strengthen the EU’s ability to predict and respond to future health threats, the European Commission and EU Member States are developing together a European partnership for pandemic preparedness, which will improve coordination of research and innovation funding across the EU. This Horizon Europe partnership will cover basic, preclinical, and clinical research, particularly on pathogens of high epidemic potential. It will support the development of AI tools for surveillance and diagnosis, as well as public health research to evaluate and improve social measures. The partnership will also strengthen research infrastructures and networks and reinforce the European Research Area.?

The European Union’s response to COVID-19 highlights the power of collaboration, innovation, and resilience in addressing global health challenges. Together, we are not only addressing today’s crises but also paving the way for a stronger response to future health threats.?

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