In December 2013, the European Commission launched Horizon 2020, the successor of the FP7 funding programme and its biggest research and innovation framework programme ever , with a seven year budget worth nearly €80 billion. As an extension of the successful Open Access Pilot in FP7, Open Access will now be mandatory for all research publications that result from H2020-funded projects.
Beneficiaries will be asked to (i) deposit a machine-readable electronic copy of the published version or final peer-reviewed manuscript accepted for publication in a repository for scientific publications and (ii) ensure open access as follows:
- For open access publishing, researchers can publish in open access journals, or in journals that sell subscriptions and also offer the possibility of making individual articles openly accessible (hybrid journals).Where the case, the Author Processing Charges (APCs) incurred by beneficiaries are eligible for reimbursement during the duration of the action. For APCs incurred after the end of their grant agreement, a mechanism for paying some of these costs will be piloted. In the case of ‘Gold’ open access, open access must be granted at the latest on publication.
- For self-archiving, researchers can deposit the final peer-reviewed manuscript in a repository of their choice. In this case, they must ensure open access to the publication or within the limits specified above. In the case of ‘Green’ open access, open access must be granted within 6 months of publication for STEM, or 12 for publications in SSH.
A novelty in Horizon 2020 is the Open Research Data Pilot which aims to improve and maximise access to and re-use of research data generated by projects. It will be monitored with a view to developing the European
Commission policy on open research data in future Framework Programmes.
More details can be found here:
Open Access Belgium 
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