Eleven new projects involving 312 research teams from 40 countries have been shortlisted by the European Commission for funding worth €120 million to support and enable “urgent research into the coronavirus and its variants”, a statement from Brussels announced. “We are stepping up our research efforts to meet the challenges and threats that coronavirus variants present”, said Commissioner for Research Mariya Gabriel. Some of the projects will focus on clinical trials for new treatments and vaccines. Others will reinforce and widen access to the research infrastructures providing services, or needed to share data, expertise, and research resources among researchers. Overall, they will contribute to the establishment of the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), which will enable the EU to anticipate and better tackle future pandemics. Italy is a partner in 7 of the funded projects and is leading, with the EuResist Network GEIE, a project called “EuCARE”, on “European Cohorts of Patients and Schools to Advance Response to Epidemics”.