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As the EU embarks on a new push for competitiveness, the role of Open Science is uncertain. While scientific outputs should remain ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’, the Open Science community must safeguard the progress achieved so far and promote openness as a driver of innovation, collaboration and economic growth.
The European Union is undergoing a major shift in its approach to competitiveness, including a renewed focus on strengthening its position in the global research and innovation landscape. The launch of the Competitiveness Compass has been largely welcomed across Europe, as bridging the EU’s innovation gap with its global partners is crucial in an increasingly uncertain geopolitical landscape.
But what is the role of Open Science in this new framework? Can Europe maintain its leadership in Open Science while enhancing its competitiveness? Or will the drive for innovation-led productivity and marketable results undermine the principles of openness that have shaped European R&I over the past decade?
In this uncertain landscape, the Open Science community must be ready to safeguard the progress achieved over the past years. The principle of keeping science ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’ should remain as our guiding force. However, it must not become a loophole that allows competitiveness and commercial interests to take precedence over the fundamental need to keep publicly funded research open.
Landmark reports by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi have been the driving force behind this evolving European policy landscape. Both reports share a common call for Europe: strengthening the EU’s global competitiveness through a strong single market and an improved European R&I framework.
The Letta report identifies Open Science as a key ingredient to make the fifth freedom – the free movement of research, innovation, knowledge and education – a reality. According to Letta, “a comprehensive open science framework is needed, incentivising researchers to make their work openly accessible while fostering data sharing and collaboration”. He also highlights how Open Science breaks down barriers across disciplines and sectors, accelerating discoveries and ensuring efficiency in research.
Open Science also finds its way into the Draghi report. In his recommendations for accelerating innovation, Draghi lists Open Science and Open Access to scientific publications and research data as one of the key European values. Promoting these values, he says, is what “makes Europe a more attractive place for researchers and businesses from around the world”.
However, an element of caution toward the openness movement is added when he refers specifically to (open) international collaboration in R&I. Here, the report highlights how the changing geopolitical landscape is challenging Europe’s open approach to collaborating with global partners. To address this, the report suggests that “[Europe’s] instruments should be as open as possible and as closed as necessary to mitigate the risks of unintended knowledge and technology transfer”.
The ‘as open as possible as closed as necessary’ principle mentioned by Draghi has long been a cornerstone of the Open Science movement (for example in the context of the EU R&I Framework Programme). However, the juxtaposition between openness and strategic autonomy is now creating a dilemma that European policy makers and the R&I community will inevitably have to address. Should the EU prioritise strengthening its competitive edge, even if it means limiting openness? Or can Open Science itself become a tool for competitiveness?
That said, does Europe necessarily have to make a choice between those two approaches? Not if we recognise that Open Science can drive innovation and economic growth and if we adopt measures that foster this role. Making research results, such as publications, data, and methodologies, openly available can accelerate discoveries, foster collaboration, and enhance Europe’s ability to compete globally, as highlighted in the EUA Open Science Agenda 2025.
Moreover, Open Science remains an 'inclusive construct' that goes beyond traditional forms of Open Access and entails all practices that make scientific knowledge openly available, accessible and reusable for everyone, such as Open Educational Resources, citizen and participatory science and Open Innovation. While these remain emerging areas of Open Science, universities and their partners are already exploring their potential. For example, universities are experimenting with Open Innovation, showing how open research and innovation practices can lead to new forms of collaboration with the business sector.
As the EU charts its path towards a more competitive R&I ecosystem, we must ensure that Open Science is not left behind.
The European Commission should continue to promote Open Science, open innovation and open infrastructures following the principle of ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’. This commitment was also reaffirmed by member states in November 2024. However, measures should be taken to ensure that the ‘as closed as necessary’ part of the equation does not take precedence over ‘as open as possible’, but remains a carefully justified exception rather than a default approach.
At the same time, as advocates for Open Science, we must be vocal about the benefits of openness across the whole research and innovation continuum. The Covid-19 pandemic provided a powerful example of how open science practices can accelerate scientific progress and tackle global challenges. However, new narratives and evidence must be developed to illustrate the role of Open Science in driving innovation, creating new opportunities for the exploitation of research results, producing an efficient return on public investment and promoting science as a global public good.
