Brussels, 22/08/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission wants to ensure that there is free unrestricted internet access to the results of research it funds. On Wednesday 20 August, it launched a pilot project to allow free internet access to scientific articles on EU-funded research projects. The idea is to disseminate these results “as widely and effectively as possible” to guarantee “maximum exploitation and impact in the world of researchers and beyond”, the Commission explains in a press release. “This open access pilot is an important step towards achieving the 'fifth freedom', the free movement of knowledge amongst member states, researchers, industry and the public at large”, said Janez Potoènik, Commissioner for Science and Research. “Beyond, it is a fair return to the public of research that is funded by EU money”, he adds in the release. The pilot project will cover some 20% of the budget of the 7th EU Framework Programme for Research and Development (FP7) in fields such as health, energy, the environment, social sciences and information and communication technology. For this period, over €50 billion are earmarked for funding research work. European grant recipients will be required to deposit peer-reviewed research articles or final manuscripts resulting from their FP7 projects in an online repository. They must do their utmost to ensure open access to these articles within either six or twelve months after publication, depending on the research area. This embargo period will allow scientific publishers to obtain returns on their investment.