Open Research Europe (ORE), the open-access publishing platform launched by the European Commission, has entered a new phase as a collective European publishing service under the operational management of CERN. The relaunch expands eligibility beyond researchers funded through European Union programs, potentially making the platform available to more than 2.5 million scientists.
The European Commission launched ORE in 2021 as a no-fee, open-access publishing platform for researchers funded through EU programs. During its first five years, the platform published more than 1,500 articles, with contributions from over 7,800 authors affiliated with more than 4,000 institutions worldwide.
In its new phase, ORE will operate as a not-for-profit public infrastructure supported by 17 research organizations and funding agencies. Its collective governance model is intended to promote equity, diversity, and transparency in scholarly communication while maintaining editorial standards and research integrity.
ORE accepts a range of research outputs across scientific disciplines, allowing researchers to publish findings at different stages of the research process. Its editorial workflows are designed to support rapid dissemination, while transparent peer review and public commentary encourage open science practices. All published research outputs remain freely accessible, supporting the use, reuse, and further development of research.
CERN will provide the technical infrastructure and operational support for ORE, drawing on its experience in developing and maintaining open science infrastructure and community-governed services, including Zenodo, Invenio, and SCOAP³. As the platform's new host, CERN will provide an institutional setting for its continued operation.
CERN Director for Site Operations Mar Capeáns said the organization views open access to knowledge and shared research infrastructure as important to scientific progress. Capeáns noted that CERN's experience in open science infrastructure would support the development of an open and transparent scholarly publishing service for researchers across multiple disciplines in Europe.
The new ORE infrastructure is based on Open Journal Systems (OJS), an open-source publishing software platform. Features developed specifically for ORE will be made freely available to the approximately 58,000 journals worldwide that use the software, extending the benefits of the platform's development to the wider scholarly publishing community.
The relaunch represents the beginning of closer collaboration among CERN, the European Commission, national research funders, and research institutions. The participating organizations aim to work together to establish a sustainable, not-for-profit alternative for scholarly publishing. Researchers can now use the expanded eligibility criteria to determine whether they can submit their work to ORE.
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