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European Commission Communication on the "Scientific Information in the Digital Era: Access, Dissemination and Presevation" (COM(2007) 56)-2007. In this Communication the European Commission signals the importance of and launches a policy process on (a) access to and dissemination of scientific information, and (b) strategies for the preservation of scientific information across the Union. The European Commission also announces that it will take measures to promote better access to the publications resulting from the research it funds; further, that it will financially support the funding of research infrastructures and that it will contribute to policy debate through research and debate with stakeholders.

The Green Paper: The European Research Area. New Perspective (COM(2007) 161). A dominant concept in European research policy, the European Research Area was already endorsed by the 2000 Lisbon Council. The European Research Area places a particular emphasis on the fact that ‘knowledge must circulate without barriers throughout the whole society' and calls, among other things, for effective sharing of knowledge and states that ‘reliable, affordable and permanent access to, and widespread dissemination of, scientific research results should therefore become defining principles for Europe's research landscape'

Council of the  European Union Decision on "Scientific Information in the Digital Era" (14865/07 (Presse 259))-2007. The Council invites Member States, within a specific time frame to 1) reinforce national strategies and structures for access to and dissemination of scientific information, 2) enhance the co-ordination between Member States on access and dissemination policies and practices, 3) ensure the long term preservation of scientific information-including publications and data-and pay due attention to scientific information in national preservation strategies. At the same time, the Council invites the Commission to implement the measures announced in the previous Communication.

Recommendation by the European Commission on the "Management of Intellectual Property in Activities of Knowledge dissemination and Code of Practices for Universities and other public research organizations" (COM(2008)1329)-2008. This recommendation emphasizes Open Access to research and research data for their contribution to the management of intellectual property in activities of knowledge transition, among other things.

Digital Agenda for Europe one of the seven flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 Strategy and it sets out to define the key enabling role that the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) will have to play if Europe wants to succeed in its ambitions for 2020. One of the actions to be taken is to open access to content, in order to reach a vibrant single market. It is envisioned that ‘publicly funded research should be widely disseminated through Open Access publication of scientific data and papers'. It further commits that the European Commission will extend appropriately the Open Access publication requirements (COM (2010) 245).

Innovation Union is one of the seven flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 Strategy. It aims to improve conditions and access to finance for research and innovation, to ensure that innovative ideas can be turned into products and services that create growth and jobs. The European Commission commits that by 2012 it will proposed a European Research Area framework and supporting measures and will ensure through a common approach, among other things, the ‘dissemination, transfer and use of research results, including through open access to publications and data from publicly funded research' (commitment 4). Additionally, that it will ‘promote open access to the results of publicly funded research. It will aim to make open access to publications the general principle for projects funded by the EU research Framework Programmes' (commitment 20) (COM (2010) 546).