Commission to test free access to EU research

A pilot project that will give unrestricted online access to EU-funded research results was launched yesterday (20 August), which the Commission claims will ensure better exploitation of scientific studies and guarantee a “fair return” for taxpayers. But specialist publishers are unhappy with the move.

The open access pilot scheme would cover some 20% of the EU’s €50 billion budget for its 7th Research Framework Programme from 2007-2013, mainly in the areas of health, energy, environment and ICT. 

Peer-reviewed scientific journal articles resulting from such EU-funded research would have to be made fully accessible to everyone over the internet, free-of-charge, following an initial embargo period of six to twelve months. 

The Commission explained the move by saying it wants to “get the best possible return on this investment”. It believes open access can help boost research in Europe, helping researchers to maximise their impact by disseminating their results to the widest possible audience. It also hopes to trigger increased business interest for the development and commercialisation of practical applications based on the results of scientific research – an area where the EU still trails behind the US. 

It further adds that open access policies for publicly-funded research are “a fair return for the public on research funded with taxpayers’ money”. But scientific publishers are unhappy with the move. The International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM) highlights the losses that could be incurred by specialist publishers, which play a huge role in supporting the research community in Europe and ensuring the integrity of scientific research. 

“Peer-reviewed journals play an irreplaceable role in authenticating articles through registration, certification, dissemination and editorial improvement,” notes STM CEO Micheal Mabe, adding: “For our member publishers, making access to research articles free at any point after – or even upon – publication presupposes a means of recovering revenues that allow the journal to exist.” 

While the Commission argues that “the embargo periods foreseen in the context of the Commission’s open access pilot (six to 12 months after initial publication) provide a safeguard for the investment made by scientific publishers,” Mabe retorts that “this approach assumes that an article has little value after its embargo period. For the vast majority of journals this is a dangerous and fallacious assumption”. Indeed, according to him, data shows that only about 1% of active learned journals have business models that allow this approach. 

The Commission nevertheless appears eager to go ahead with the scheme, saying it hopes the pilot project will serve as a possible model for broader application under the EU’s next research programme as well as in member states.

The pilot scheme was initially foreseen in a February 2007 Commission Communication on ‘Scientific information in the digital age: access, dissemination and preservation’ (EURACTIV 16/02/07). 

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