In an article for 'Troitsky Variant', Professor Vladimir Moskovkin, weighed up the pros and cons of proposed changes to the way academic papers are published in the EU
His article, entitled '10 Points of Principle on the European Union’s Plan S', discusses the EU’s plan for a full transition to open access scientific publications from 1st January 2020, with no offers of financial support for a subscription-based business model. With increasing uncertainty around EU-Russian relations, the worry is that a more centrally controlled system of publication will restrict the ability of Russian and non-EU academics to publish scientific results. The current system allows for some financial reward to the journals through subscription fees paid by libraries across Europe, which does offset some of the costs of publication to researchers. Plan S is financed by contributions into a centralised EU fund, which will therefore give researchers free access to scientific and academic papers. According to Professor Moskovkin, 'If Russia cannot make contributions to EU funds, then Russian scientists will not be allowed access to the highest quality journals and platforms'. He says that, despite the EU’s plan to refuse to subsidise subscription journals through libraries from 2020, the rump of the previous system can serve the library needs of non-European countries. However, the quality of these journals will be severely undermined, as European researchers will be required to publish their results exclusively in the public domain. The 14th Berlin Open Access Conference will take place on the 3rd and 4th December, where Professor Moskovkin will join other Russian and non-European academics in making their case.
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