A new independent expert report commissioned by the European Commission highlights the EOSC EU Node as a major operational milestone for the European Research Area (ERA). While the study stresses that policy fragmentation across Member States still poses challenges for cross-border research, it underscores the pivotal role of shared digital infrastructure in putting European Open Science into practice.
The policy landscape: progress and persistent challenges
Over the past decade, European Union soft-law guidelines, funder mandates and national strategies have significantly advanced Open Access across Europe. However, the newly published report, Open Access policies in EU Member States and beyond reveals that progress across the 27 EU Member States remains uneven.
Fragmented policies, publication costs and research incentives continue to hinder progress, requiring coordinated action at both national and EU levels. Crucially, the study notes that policy mandates alone are not enough; researchers also need reliable, interoperable digital environments where they can practically store, process and share data.
The EOSC EU Node as a cornerstone of federated research
To help address these practical workflow needs, the technical and public deployment of the EOSC EU Node in October 2024 marked a flagship operational success under ERA Policy Agenda Action 1. Serving as the first reference node of the emerging EOSC Federation, the EOSC EU Node provides researchers across Europe with a secure, EU-compliant cloud environment.
Through a common federated platform pioneered by the EOSC EU Node, researchers can access core workspace tools including,
- Interactive notebooks
- Virtual machines
- Cloud container platforms
- File synchronization
- Bulk data transfer services
Simple access is facilitated via virtual credits automatically assigned upon log-in, enabling seamless multi-disciplinary collaboration.
Rapid community uptake has followed the Node's launch; to date, the platform has welcomed more than 6,000 users and distributed over 7.5 million virtual credits*. At the same time, the broader EOSC Federation has continued to expand, with initial waves of candidate national and thematic nodes signing Memoranda of Understanding to build operational integration. Real use cases, ranging from multi-hazard research workflows in the HOMEROS project to supporting institutional computing resilience at the British Library, demonstrate how shared infrastructure actively supports research in practice.
Looking forward: supporting the European Research Area
Looking ahead, the evolution of the EOSC EU Node aligns closely with major upcoming European policy initiatives, such as the proposed European Research Area (ERA) Act. By embedding Open Science requirements and shared infrastructure standards into a binding European framework, the ERA Act aims to establish a more coherent foundation for knowledge circulation.
As the EOSC Federation continues to mature, the EOSC EU Node remains committed to working alongside Member States, research performing organisations and service contributors. Together, the community is building a trusted, collaborative environment where research assets remain Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) for all.
Read the full report here: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/5126e321-b0dd-11f1-b9e5-01aa75ed71a1/language-en
*Numbers updated by the EOSC EU Node. The EC report lists the numbers of the EOSC EU Node’s first year in production, where the EOSC EU Node welcomed approximately 4,000 users and distributed over 2.5 million virtual credits.
