EUROPA - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - Speech: Embracing the open opportunity

" ... I am proud to have delivered a more open Europe. First, we have delivered openness for public administrations. EU law now gives a genuine right to every European to reuse open public information. From any administration in any EU country at any level. Without complex licensing restrictions. And without high costs – in almost all cases it can only ever be at marginal cost. And in the digital age – that basically means for free, otherwise something has gone very wrong. The EU's member states now have one more year to pass those rules into national law. And today the European Commission is helping them do that: giving guidance on how to pick the data for release, on licensing, on charging, and more. And I hope it will also make your lives easier. Your lives as liberators and users of more open data. That guidance is published online on our website as I speak. The EU is leading by example with its own data portal. And we are going further – a call for tender for a new pan-European data infrastructure is open until 8 September – and we are looking for the best consortiums with the best proposals. So take a look! But this needs more than laws and portals. It needs a mindset change from every public administration. From the Rijksmuseum to the Norwegian weather service – bodies all over Europe are starting to get it. Starting to realise that being as open is, quite simply, part of their function as a public body. But there is further to go. As countries transpose new laws, and start to implement them – I hope you will be behind them: advising, encouraging, inspiring. And we want to work with you, and see you work together across borders and languages. We have set up Erasmus for Open Data to support this. Starting with an event in Nantes, France, in September. But if you have an idea for what more we could do – then let us know! Second, we have delivered for open science. Sharing and openness have always been an essential part of science. Helping the community examine, compare and learn. Now we have new ways to do that like never before. That's why open access to science can be good for citizens, good for scientists, good for society. This trend comes not from political instruction, but from the bottom up: from scientists themselves. That's as it should be. But it is a trend we can support. And I am. Horizon 2020 will offer 80 billion euros for research and innovation. Our biggest ever investment. And every resulting publication will be openly and freely available. Plus we are making big steps toward opening up more research data too. Of course – ours is not the only research funding programme in town. And we are calling on member states to open up their national programmes too. Slowly but surely they are. Across Europe and beyond, countries are realising the benefits and the payback. This is just the beginning. I'd like to see citizens not just informed about the results of science, but involved and engaged, right from the start. Better participation for improved impact, and science that delivers for society. That is the promise of open digital science – with implications for assessment, review, access and more. And now you have a chance to "participate" too. Our consultation on 'Science in Transition' is open until the end of September. Have your say on the future of science and go to our site at http://tinyurl.com/opendigitalscience. Third: we are delivering openness for the internet itself. For too long your telecom operator has had the right to decide what you can or can't access online, and breach net neutrality. I've proposed new rules to safeguard the open internet for all, and end blocking and throttling of services: for the first time ever across the EU. I hope national governments can agree it as a priority, for our connected continent. And finally – the best investment we can make in our future is education. That too must be open ..."