Source: European Parliament
The Commission has not been informed by any national or European authority about intelligence indicating that COVID-19 originated in a laboratory.
The Commission closely monitors scientific studies on the origin of SARS-CoV-2 and supports the research of the World Health Organisation (WHO)[1].
The WHO’s Global Study on the origins of SARS-CoV-2 suggests three possible zoonotic pathways for the introduction of the virus and concludes that the introduction through a laboratory incident is extremely unlikely[2]. Furthermore, a 2023 scientific critical review concluded that the strongest evidence supports a zoonotic over a laboratory origin[3].
The Commission supported research on infectious diseases via its framework programmes for Research and Innovation[4]. Prior to the pandemic, the Commission provided financial support to institutions engaged in high-risk virological research including Wuhan Institute of Virology via two EU-funded projects[5].
The Commission ensures transparency, traceability and safety in EU-funded research[6], including gain-of-function and dual use research.
The Commission implements ethics assessments and promotes transparency through open-access publication of research results. Security checks are conducted as part of the ethics and security scrutiny process[7], with clearance required from the Security Scrutiny Group[8] before funding is granted.
In addition, project monitoring is ensured until the end of a project to check its proper implementation and compliance with the obligations laid down in the grant agreement.
- [1] https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/eu-statement-who-led-covid-19-origins-study_en.
- [2] https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/origins-of-the-virus, WHO-convened Global Study of Origins of SARS-CoV-2: China Part Joint WHO-China Study, page 9.
- [3] Alwine JC, Casadevall A, Enquist LW, Goodrum FD, Imperiale MJ. A Critical Analysis of the Evidence for the SARS-CoV-2 Origin Hypotheses. mBio. 2023 Apr 25;14(2):e0058323. doi: 10.1128/mbio.00583-23. Epub 2023 Mar 28. PMID: 36897098; PMCID: PMC10127682.
- [4] I ncluding https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/FP6, https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/FP7, https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-2020_en and https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/horizon-europe_en.
- [5] Grant agreements: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/653316; https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/871029.
- [6] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/projects-results.
- [7] https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/funding-tenders-opportunities/display/OM/Special+procedures%3A+Ethics+review%2C+security+scrutiny%2C+Ownership+control+check.
- [8] Composed of national security experts nominated in agreement with their national security authorities.