We are delighted to have confirmed our status as one of four founding members of the EOSC Association when David Bohmert (Secretary General) signed the deed of incorporation on 29 July. The deed was also signed by the three other founding members: the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) represented by Elena Domínguez, the pan-European data network for the research and education community (GÉANT) represented by Cathrin Stöver and the Gruppo per l'Armonizzazione delle Reti della Ricerca (GARR) represented by Angelo Volpi.
The royal decree which will formally establish the EOSC as an international non-profit association under Belgian law (AISBL) will take between six weeks and three months to be issued. In the meantime, the founding members can hold a meeting to admit additional members and prepare the first General Assembly which will held once the royal decree is issued. The General Assembly will formally ratify the admission of additional members and can proceed with the formal election of the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Directors for the Board. Until then, the founding members have nominated non-statutory Directors who can take decisions with a three-quarters majority: Karel Luyben (CESAER), José Luis de Miguel (CSIC), Cathrin Stöver (GÉANT) and Federico Ruggieri (GARR). The association will soon be in touch with all organisations who have registered their interest to be a member of EOSC regarding the next steps towards admission.
Earlier this month, we proudly announced that the EOSC Executive Board had identified our association to be a founding member. This follows our continued role as a strong supporter and constructive partner of the EOSC: we were one of the first signatories of the 2017 EOSC Declaration, we published our position on Shaping the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) in 2018 and our Director Karel Luyben acts as the Chair of the EOSC Executive Board, representing the European University Association (EUA) and our association.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact our Secretary General David Bohmert.