The EU does some great things in relation to science, well done to the EU on this front!
http://www.sciencealert.com/europe-a...ssible-by-2020
"This week was a revolutionary week in the sciences - not because we discovered a new fundamental particle or had a new breakthrough in quantum computing - but because some of the most prominent world leaders announced an initiative which asserts that European scientific papers should be made freely available to all by 2020.
This would legally only impact research supported by public and public-private funds, which are a vast portion of the papers produced annually; however, the goal is to make all science freely available.
Ultimately, the commitment rests on three main tenets: "Sharing knowledge freely", "open access", and "reusing research data".
And it would totally transform the (long questioned) paid-for subscription model that is used by many scientific journals. It would also undermine the common practice of releasing reports under embargo (a method that allows scientific journals to favour certain science communicators and members of the media to the great detriment of others).
Ultimately, this decision comes as a result of a meeting by the Competitiveness Council,which includes the ministers of Science, Innovation, Trade, and Industry. European Union member states were in agreement regarding the value of, and their commitment to, this new open access (OA) target.
If the 2020 target is met, it would mean that millions of people (literally) would have free access to the knowledge and information produced by experts in physics, astronomy, mathematics, engineering, biology… it would make the sciences accessible to individuals in ways that previous generations could only dream about."