Visions: A globally competitive European Research Area (ERA) of excellence, to facilitate the advancement of science and help create a knowledge-based society in Europe, requires: ...
8. Open access to the output of publicly funded research and permanent access to primary quality-assured research data ...
EUROHORCs and ESF and their Member Organisations will take their responsibility in contributing to the construction of the ERA and will initiate the following actions, involving others as appropriate: ...
9. Implement a common policy on Open Access to research results and Permanent Access to research data by:
Developing a joint policy and a statement on Open Access and putting it into action;
Supporting the necessary infrastructures for Open Access;
Promoting awareness of the importance of Open Access amongst researchers and administrators;
Initiating a dialogue with other national and European associations and possibly other non-European research organisations and with publishers to redefine the responsibilities and cost distribution of the publishing system;
Ensuring that permanent preservation and Open Access will be the rule for data repositories.
More details are available in the document, including joining the Berlin Declaration, mandating OA as a grant requirement, and a long-term transition to "an author- or institution-paid system".
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
