European Commission Sets Out Manifesto for EU COVID-19 Research

The European Commission has launched a manifesto with the aim of maximising the accessibility of COVID-19 research results.

The manifesto provides guiding principles for beneficiaries of EU research grants for coronavirus prevention, testing, treatment and vaccination to ensure that their research results will be accessible for all and guarantee a return on public investment.

It commits stakeholders to:

Making generated results public and accessible without delay, via the Horizon Results Platform, an existing IP platform, or through another existing patent pool.

Making scientific papers and research data available in open access without delay following the FAIR principles and using the European COVID-19 Data Platform.

Granting, for a limited time, non-exclusive royalty free licenses on the intellectual property produced from EU-funded research.

The Commission is seeking the voluntary support and endorsement of all public and private stakeholders benefitting from EU funding, other research funders and prominent individuals and institutions. Organisations including the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Young European Research Universities Network (Yerun), and All European Academies (ALLEA) have already pledged their support.

European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel has endorsed the manifesto, saying: ‘The importance of cooperating closely across the EU and beyond, supporting open science and the principles of open access against coronavirus has never been more evident’.

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