On 4 September, a coalition of national research funders, with support from the European Commission launched ‘Plan S’, a commitment to accelerate the transition to open access in scientific publishing. The initiative was held under the backing of Science Europe and with the support of Robert-Jan Smits, the European Commission’s open access envoy. The initiative has the potential of fundamentally altering the scientific publishing landscape, as well as accelerating the transition to Open Science more generally.

The reaction to the plan has been mixed, with many European publishers questioning aspects of the initiative, as well as highlighting the high costs this could incur to smaller publishers, as well as publishers from economically disadvantaged countries and regions.

Because of the many unanswered questions, and the as of yet unknown consequences the transition may have, EuChemS endorses a more cautious approach, that fully takes into account the concerns and proposals of all stakeholders, in particular those who will have to adapt their business models and who risk financial losses if the transition is rushed and one-sided.