The commissioner for research, science and innovation says research papers on EU-funded projects should be free to access.

In a speech at the recent Open Science Conference in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Commissioner Carlos Moedas argued the need for open access to scientific and academic research papers, particularly those that cover EU-funded research. The commissioner said: “We must transition from a pay-to-read to a free-to-read culture. As I see it, European success now lies in sharing as soon as possible, because the days of ‘publish or die’ are disappearing. The days of open science have arrived.”

The area of open access publishing is expected to be a strong focal point of the Dutch presidency of the EU. Publishers have defended the subscription model as necessary to financing publication, and critics of open science have raised concerns about the ease with which researchers could begin to reuse data. In response, Moedas said: “Of course, open access naturally leads to researchers reusing data and research results, but often the legal framework for doing so is unclear, or differs from country to country. So, to answer this need for clarity, the commission will propose a copyright directive that will include research exemptions, and we have introduced specific provisions within the EU Data Protection framework.”

The commissioner argued that by working with both publishing companies and funding bodies, progress could be made towards open access. “In Horizon 2020, open access is already mandatory and other funders are beginning to require the same,” he pointed out.

The commission will launch a new open science policy platform in May 2016, to explore further strategies for openness in research publishing.