The European Commission announced on Wednesday that it is mobilizing 123 million euros ($146 million) from Horizon Europe, a new EU research and innovation program, for urgent research into coronavirus variants. 

This first emergency funding under Horizon Europe, in addition to a range of EU-funded research and innovation actions, aims to fight the coronavirus and contribute to the commission's overall action to prevent, mitigate and respond to the impact of coronavirus variants, according to the statement. 

"We continue to mobilize all means at our disposal to fight this pandemic and the challenges presented by coronavirus variants. We must use our combined strength to be prepared for the future, starting from the early detection of the variants to the organization and coordination of clinical trials for new vaccines and treatments, while ensuring correct data collection and sharing at all stages," said Mariya Gabriel, commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth.