STM NEWSROOM

As expected, last month, the Competitiveness Ministers of the European Council adopted several documents with implications for open access and AI: The Council Recommendations for ERA Policy Agenda 2025-27 is a ‘non-binding roadmap’ of initiatives to drive the European Research Area forward, including copyright interventions that apply to Action 1 on Open Science. The Council’s conclusions on AI in science state that AI collaboration…

Last month, the European Commission launched a consultation on the Data Union Strategy — an attempt to simplify and consolidate rules concerning data, its flow across international borders and its use in AI. The Data Union Strategy could lead to a rise in generative AI and establish Europe as, in the Commission’s own words, an ‘AI Continent’. The Commission…

On 23 May, President Trump signed an executive order to ‘restore Gold Standard Science’ — but what exactly does that mean? In the executive order and related fact sheet, the administration claims there is a ‘reproducibility crisis’ in science and that the government needs to restore transparency to research. The direct targets here are policies that the administration disagrees…

Publishers in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories are misusing the ISSNs of Ukrainian journals, a press release from Supporting Ukrainian Publishing Resilience and Recovery (SUPRR) revealed last month. SUPRR secured support from the ISSN International Centre, which assumes responsibility for assigning ISSNs when there’s no national ISSN centre (such as in occupied or disputed territories). Jan-Peter Wissink, managing director of Amsterdam University…

The EU Commission is seeking input on how to accelerate the uptake of AI in science—encouraging more researchers to use it as a tool while carefully managing its impact on the scientific process. The strategy will lay the groundwork for a European AI Research Council, envisioned as a “Resource for AI Science in Europe” (RAISE), aimed at…

As discussions continue on the Code of Practice, the EU COM has opened a consultation to define the scope of the definition of General-Purpose AI models and of the obligations falling on them. The stakeholder feedback will inform guidelines expected to be published in August 2025, defining concepts such as general-purpose AI models, placing on the market, downstream providers….

The Code of Practice outlining obligations for general-purpose AI providers was due to be finalised by 1 May. However, with both tech companies and rightsholders dissatisfied with the draft, the EU AI Office has postponed the adoption deadline to August 2025, citing a need to “prioritise extended feedback cycles as requested by all stakeholders.” A broad…

With so much happening in US Federal Science Agencies, we want to ensure you hadn’t missed a selection of key developments last month: The Department of Energy announced  it will join the NIH in attempting to cap indirect cost rates at 15% to “halt inefficient spending” by universities. Recall that the NIH’s effort has been blocked  by a federal judge,…

There was significant news from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy last week, as well as from nominated and incumbent science agency leaders. Here’s a roundup: OSTP Director Michael Kratsios outlined the Administration’s priorities in his first significant speech since being confirmed. He called for an America First science agenda and protection of “intellectual capital.”…

On Friday, the Trump Administration released a partial budget request for Fiscal Year 2026, which begins on October 1. While the President’s budget is only a request—Congress must still pass appropriations bills, which often differ significantly—it signals this Administration’s continued aggressive stance on federal spending. That makes this proposal more consequential than a typical opening bid….