The European Open Research Act: Harmonising Scholarly Communication

(We are working on an initiative on harmonizing secondary publishing rights, and analysis and prevention monopolization/oligopolization in the academic publishing sector. We would appreciate any feedback you might have. Thank you.)

OBJECTIVES
 

This initiative calls on the European Commission to propose a legislative framework to establish a harmonised, zero-embargo Secondary Publishing Right (SPR) across the Union. Pursuant to Articles 114, 118, and 179 TFEU, the Commission is urged to propose legislation that:
 

• Establishes a Union-wide SPR: Ensuring authors of scientific works resulting from research funded by public Union or national funds retain the inalienable right to make their manuscripts immediately available in public repositories at the time of publication.
 

• Targets Institutional Responsibility: Ensuring the legal obligation for Open Access compliance rests upon research-performing organisations and commercial publishers, thereby protecting individual researchers from administrative or legal burdens.
 

• Monitors Market Dynamics: Mandating a formal evaluation and structured monitoring of scholarly publishing market structures to address systemic failures and ensure the free circulation of knowledge.
 

• Redirects Strategic Funding: Facilitating the technical interoperability of public repositories and prioritising Union research funding for sustainable, publicly owned Diamond Open Access infrastructures. 
 

ANNEX
 

The transition to Open Science is a prerequisite for scientific progress, innovation, and democratic accountability within the European Union. Currently, the dissemination of publicly funded research is hindered by fragmented national laws, restrictive publishing agreements, and a significant concentration of market power. This initiative seeks to empower authors and safeguard the public interest through a coordinated Union approach.
 

I. Strengthening Author Rights and Harmonisation Pursuant to Article 179 TFEU, which mandates the Union to achieve a European Research Area (ERA) where researchers and scientific knowledge circulate freely, a mandatory, non-waivable Secondary Publishing Right (SPR) shall be established. This right ensures that authors of scientific works resulting from research funded by public funds retain the right to make the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) available in a public repository immediately upon first publication. A zero-month embargo period shall be established as the Union standard to eliminate current cross-border barriers to knowledge.
 

In accordance with Article 114 TFEU, the current lack of a harmonised SPR across Member States creates legal fragmentation that distorts the internal market for scientific services. A Union-level Directive is necessary to ensure a level playing field for research institutions and publishers alike. Furthermore, pursuant to Article 118 TFEU, uniform protection of intellectual property rights shall be provided to ensure the author remains the primary holder of the right to disseminate their work, rendering any contrary contractual terms null and void.
 

II. Institutional Responsibility and Protection of Researchers The legal obligation to ensure Open Access shall be placed upon research-performing organisations and commercial publishers. The legislation shall ensure that the exercise of the SPR is an automatic legal consequence of public funding. This approach is designed to protect individual authors from legal or administrative pressure from dominant market actors. By shifting the burden of compliance to the institutional level, the Union ensures that researchers are not required to navigate complex legal negotiations to exercise their fundamental right to share knowledge.
 

III. Monitoring of Market Structures and Stakeholder Dialogue To maintain a competitive and transparent internal market, a structured monitoring framework regarding the evolution of the scholarly publishing sector shall be initiated. Pursuant to Article 102 TFEU, the Commission is encouraged to:

Conduct systematic monitoring of the impact of market concentration on the accessibility and affordability of publicly funded research.
 

Evaluate if current commercial publishing models, including transformative agreements, align with the long-term objectives of the European Research Area.
 

Promote a transparent stakeholder dialogue to address systemic market failures, such as the lack of price transparency and "double-dipping" practices.
 

Monitor the control of research metrics and data to ensure that commercial gatekeeping does not hinder the free circulation of knowledge or distort research evaluation.
 

IV. Strengthening Publicly Owned Diamond Infrastructure To provide a viable, non-commercial alternative to proprietary publishing, Union research funding shall be redirected toward the development of Diamond Open Access infrastructures. These infrastructures shall be publicly owned and shall not charge fees to authors or readers. This funding shall support the professionalisation of institutional publishing and the creation of a Union-wide network of non-commercial journals. Such a shift is essential to ensure the ERA remains independent of the commercial interests of dominant market actors.
 

V. Technical Interoperability and Community-Led Peer Review Technical interoperability standards shall be mandated for all public repositories receiving Union support to ensure that metadata and manuscripts are seamlessly discoverable across platforms such as OpenAIRE and Zenodo. Furthermore, the framework shall facilitate the formal recognition of community-led peer review, allowing the scientific community to regain control over quality-control processes. These measures shall be integrated into the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) to foster a unified digital research environment.