Answer given by Ms Gabriel on behalf of the European Commission
1.4.2022
The Commission recalls that the European Virus Archive Global network does not fund the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The Commission also recalls, as explained in its answer to Written Question E-003103/2021, that the funding received by the Wuhan Institute under two Horizon 2020 grants[1], concerned the provision of non-infectious human serology samples (antibodies), which relate to human immune responses to viral pathogens of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever and Nipah, and did not concern COVID-19 causative severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
1. The collaboration between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and European Virus Archive Global consortium within the framework of the two Horizon 2020 grants has been regulated by the respective Grant Agreements signed with the Commission as well as Consortium Agreements signed by all project partners.
2. Deliverables and reports foreseen under the two Grant Agreements are available in the public domain on the Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS) portal[2].
- [1] The Wuhan Institute of Virology received EUR 73.375 in 2015 and EUR 88.436 in 2019 as grants from the EU budget for participation in two Horizon 2020 research projects in relation to the European Virus Archive Global (EVAg).
- [2] Grant agreement no 653316 ‘European Virus Archive goes global’ — https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/653316 and Grant agreement no 871029 ‘European virus Archive GLOBAL’ — https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/871029