The EU Member States have agreed on an ambitious goal regarding open access. On May 27 2016, the Competitiveness Council of the European Union adopted the "Council Conclusions on the Transition towards an Open Science System" (PDF).
A press release issued by the Netherlands' EU Council Presidency stated: "From 2020, all scientific publications on results of publicly funded research must be freely available."
The "Conclusions" also take up a number of measures proposed in the Amsterdam Call for Action on Open Science (PDF). This call, which is well worth reading, was issued within the framework of the Netherlands' EU Council Presidency. It identifies key measures for the promotion of open science, which include, for example, calling on science organisations in Europe not to conclude non-disclosure agreements with publishers in future.
To further accompany the process towards open science, Carlos Moedas, the EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation nominated members of the European Open Science Policy Platform (OSPP) (PDF).
In line with these developments, the EU-Commission has published the vision for the future Open Innovation, Open Science, Open to the World - A Vision for Europe (PDF).
Source: Pampel, Heinz: EU- und G7-Staaten setzen auf Open Science