The Competitiveness Council of the European Union released proceedings from their May 27 2016 meeting, in which they confirmed their dedication to making all scientific articles and data openly accessible by 2020.

The proceedings included the Council conclusions on the transition towards an Open Science system. According to the conclusions, the Council of the European Union:

ACKNOWLEDGES that open science has the potential to increase the quality, impact and benefits of science and to accelerate advancement of knowledge by making it more reliable, more efficient and accurate, better understandable by society and responsive to societal challenges, and has the potential to enable growth and innovation through reuse of scientific results by all stakeholders at all levels of society, and ultimately contribute to growth and competitiveness of Europe.

STRESSES that open science entails amongst others open access to scientific publications and optimal reuse of research data, citizens science, and research integrity.

AGREES that the results of publicly funded research should be made available in an as open as possible manner.

ENCOURAGES the Commission and Member States to further engage with third countries in order to accelerate the transition process to open science and to ensure mutual benefits regarding open access to scientific publications and optimal reuse of research data in a global context.

RECOGNISES that the full scale transition towards open access should be based on common principles such as transparency, research integrity, sustainability, fair pricing and economic viability.

CALLS on Member States, the Commission and stakeholders to remove financial and legal barriers, and to take the necessary steps for successful implementation in all scientific domains, including specific measures for disciplines where obstacles hinder its progress.

Read the full “Outcome of Proceedings”