Europe will make publicly funded scientific research public

I've blogged about this topic several times now; the craziness of academics giving their papers for free to large publishing houses and then having to pay those publishers to read them. Well, it seems that in Europe at least this is about to change. Engadget reports that in 2020 Europe will make publicly funded scientific research public. "The motivation behind today's decision is to make Europe a more attractive place to do business, and to spark innovation. Researchers will be able to look into one another's work with ease, hopefully fostering an environment of collaboration. The official announcement namechecks not only "doctors and teachers," but also "entrepreneurs;" a clear sign that the EU sees this as a very startup-friendly move." This move "will only affect the publication of research that is either fully or partly funded by public funds", but since that is virtually all research in the EU this will have a major impact. Finally, we're seeing some sense.