More than 550 delegates from nearly 50 countries attended a major European Commission conference on 15-16 February to discuss the future of scientific publishing in the European Research Area. Held in Brussels, the conference attracted researchers, publishers, policy makers, research funders, and librarians drawn to debate the issues of Open Access of research outputs, dissemination of research and preservation in the digital age. eIFL was represented by Emilija Banionyte, Biljana Kosanovic, Iryna Kuchma and Melissa Hagemann.

Discussion focused on the policies of research funding bodies, especially the European Commission, new opportunities for the research community in widening access to their research outputs, and a debate on the scientific publication market, which saw many publishers react quite defensively to any suggestion that a change was needed. As a result of the meeting, the Commission pledged to undertake specific actions (see below). Of particular importance, please note that the Commission will now include the costs of Open Access publishing as an eligible cost in Community funded projects which is a HUGE step forward. The Commission is also starting discussions with the European Parliament and the Council, thus for the eIFL members who are interested in Open Access, it will be important that we begin to liaise with the Members of Parliament from your countries to advocate for Open Access.

Actions to be undertaken by the EU Commission:

• A. ACCESS TO COMMUNITY FUNDED RESEARCH RESULTS

• – Costs for publishing, including Open Access publishing, defined as eligible costs in Community funded research projects.
• – Specific guidelines to be issued, within specific programmes, on the publication of articles in open repositories.

• B. CO-FUNDING THROUGH COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES

• – Approximately €50 million for work on infrastructures, in particular digital repositories, in 2007-2008.
• – Approximately €25 million for digital preservation and collaborative tools in 2007-2008.
• – Approximately €10 million on access to and use of scientific information through eContentplus programme.

• C. INPUT FOR THE FUTURE POLICY DEBATE

• – Study on the economic aspects of digital preservation.
• – Funding of research on publication business models and on the scientific publication system.

• D. POLICY CO-ORDINATION AND DEBATE WITH STAKEHOLDERS

• – Deliberations in the European Parliament and Council; further discussions with stakeholders.
• – Exchange of good practices for new models of access to, dissemination of, and preservation of scientific information