European Commission Open Science Policy
Overview
The European Commission’s open science policy is the overarching EU framework requiring open access, FAIR data, and open science practices for all EU-funded research. Implemented through DG Research and Innovation (DG RTD) since 2016, it provides the policy foundation for the EOSC ecosystem, shapes Horizon Europe grant conditions, and drives the EHDS regulatory framework. It operates through several instruments: mandatory grant conditions in Horizon Europe, the EOSC Partnership, EU legislation (EHDS, Data Governance Act, Data Act), and soft-law guidance via recommendations and communications.
Key Policy Instruments
Horizon Europe Open Science Requirements (2021–2027)
All Horizon Europe projects are required to make publications open access immediately upon publication, produce a Data Management Plan within 6 months of project start, make research data open under FAIR Principles, and deposit data in EOSC-compatible repositories.
European Open Science Cloud (EOSC)
The EOSC is the operational implementation of EC open science policy.
Plan S / cOAlition S
The EC co-leads cOAlition S (with national funders including ANR Open Science Policy), implementing Plan S — the requirement that all publicly funded research be published open access without embargo from 2021. The Rights Retention Strategy (RRS) allows authors to retain rights for immediate open-access deposit even in subscription journals.
EOSC EU Node
The EOSC EU Node is the European Commission’s own contribution to the EOSC ecosystem, providing direct cloud storage and computing resources for EU-funded research data.
Alignment with French Policy
French open science policy (Ouvrir la Science, ANR Open Science Policy) is explicitly aligned with EC open science requirements.
Connections
- Implements: EOSC, cOAlition S
- Legislates: EHDS
Resources
- https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/strategy/strategy-research-and-innovation/our-digital-future/open-science_en
- https://open-science-cloud.ec.europa.eu (EOSC EU Node)
- https://www.coalition-s.org (cOAlition S / Plan S)
- https://allea.org/code-of-conduct/ (European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity)