EU research ministers endorsed the European Open Science Cloud

On May 29, 2018 the EU Research Ministers endorsed the European Open Science Cloud Implementation Roadmap that was published on March 14, 2018 by the European Commission.

The Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, said:

The Cloud will be a game changer for science in Europe. These Conclusions show that we are delivering on our Open Science priority, bringing an idea to fruition in just two years. Such quick progress in such a short time would not be possible without the support of national governments, industry and the scientific community. (Source: European Commission)

To guide the implementation of the European Open Science Cloud the Competitiveness Council proposed 17 conclusions, including:

• Already existing practices and infrastructures, such as the FAIR principles, should be taken into account when implementing and developing the EOSC.
• The formula “as open as possible, as closed as necessary” should be applied.
• A change of culture among researchers towards openness is the precondition for the successful implementation of the EOSC.
• The EOSC model should be based on a pan-European federation of data infrastructures; the Member States should prepare their communities for connection to the EOSC; and the European Commission should make optimal use of ongoing projects, such as GO FAIR.