Back in 2007, EUA established an Expert Working Group on Open Access as the result of requests from its university membership that EUA should seek to act as an independent European Stakeholder for universities in the growing policy debate on Open Access to scientific publishing. This Working Group proposed a series of recommendations which were adopted by the EUA Council in 2008.
In 2012, in the context of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between EUA and the European Commission, EUA established a task force on Open Access, composed of experts representing three National Rectors’ Conferences (CPU – France; VSNU – the Netherlands; and CRef – French Community of Belgium). Its aim was to monitor developments in the area of Open Access and provide support to EUA in European-level dialogues on this matter.