Open access policy to the results of publicly funded research and the high cost of scientific journals – EU CHRONICLE

Universal access to up-to-date knowledge is one of the foundations for the development of democratic societies. This conviction underpins the concept of open access, i.e. the free online publication of the conclusions of scientific research which has been financed from public funds. The policy of open access has also been adopted by the most important scientific agencies in Europe, united under the aegis of Coalition S. At the same time, however, it should be noted that the publishing market for scientific journals in Europe is dominated by a limited number of publishers. This translates into prices for open access publications which are not only varied and high (up to USD 4 000), but also do not seem to correspond to actual publishing costs. Meanwhile, the high cost of open-access publications leads to a reduction in the amount of public funds that can be allocated to scientific research. This is particularly problematic for young researchers, especially as it is often the researchers themselves who are responsible for negotiating and paying publication costs.