Boosting knowledge circulation: new study on economic impact of possible measures

The Commission has published a study undertaken by external experts analysing the economic impact of options for improving access to and reuse of publications and data for scientific purposes.

It complements the study published in May 2024 , which provided evidence on barriers to access and reuse of publicly funded research, assessing EU copyright, data and digital legislation, and identified two key policy options to improve scientific knowledge circulation: an EU-wide secondary publication right (SPR), and a harmonised copyright exception for research.

The economic impact study is a key milestone in implementing the Structural Policy on 'Enabling open science' of the ERA Policy Agenda 2025-2027, as it contributes to the targeted outcome of ensuring an EU copyright and data legislative and regulatory framework fit for research.

As baseline, the study investigates the current market economics and ecosystem of scientific publishing in the EU/EEA, including its dynamics on open access and the impact of national legislation on secondary publication rights, introduced in some EU Member States. Building on this, it analyses the economic impact by introducing various scenarios of an EU-wide SPR and a harmonised research exception to copyright law. Finally, it examines how such measures could affect the EU's competitiveness compared to non-EU G7 countries.

Overall, the study concludes the following:

• Across both pillars, EU-wide SPR and harmonised research exception, the evidence points to a consistent overarching conclusion: greater access, reuse and legal certainty can generate meaningful benefits for the European research and innovation system, but these benefits are accompanied by adjustment pressures and uneven effects across stakeholders.
• More ambitious policy approaches tend to increase gains for researchers, research-performing organisations and the wider innovation ecosystem, while also increasing risks and adaptation burdens for the scientific publishing sector and the wider rightholders ecosystem.
• The study therefore points less to a single optimal solution than to a set of policy trade-offs that must be weighed carefully against the EU's broader objectives for research excellence, innovation capacity and a sustainable scholarly communication system.

Background

The study was commissioned as part of the Structural policy 'Enabling open science' of the ERA Policy Agenda 2025-2027. It has been carried out by a consortium led by Visionary Analytics and Technopolis Group, including as partners Opix, Timelex and Ernst & Young.

It also follows up to the Council Conclusions of May 2023 on 'High-quality, transparent, open, trustworthy and equitable scholarly publishing', which encouraged the Commission to examine and propose measures at EU level.

More information

Study: Economic analysis of options for improving EU legislative and regulatory frameworks with impact on access and reuse of publicly funded R&I results and of publications and data for scientific purposes