EU advisers call for immediate open access to research outputs

All outputs from publicly funded research should be made openly available immediately, preferably with authors assigning unrestricted copyright, advisers to EU policymakers have said.

Slow progress towards open research “seems to be harming Europe’s potential for innovation”, according to a report published on 18 December. Furthermore, research is still being assessed and rewarded in “the old way”.

The report, by the Working Group on Open Science and Innovation of the European Research Area and Innovation Committee—which advises the European Commission, European Parliament and national governments in the Council of the EU—sets out nine recommendations for changing this situation.