A year ago, work began on the development of the EOSC EU Node infrastructure, services, and management processes by the partners behind the winning bids in the EOSC Core EU public procurement. The tender was organized into three LOTs, and NORDUnet plays a key role as a subcontractor in the winning consortia for two of them, contributing to the realisation of this important European initiative.
Delivering the EOSC EU Node
The past year has been an exciting and challenging journey, marking a new chapter in how European partners collaborate to deliver services at scale. The EOSC EU Node represents a new approach—not only for the partners involved but also for the European Commission in how it contracts for and consumes services. Built as a federated infrastructure, the service delivery brought together expertise and innovation across borders to support open science.
Successfully launched in October 2024, the EOSC EU Node is already proving its value. It showcases how services that support data sharing and scientific collaboration can be delivered effectively. The scientific community has welcomed the initiative, actively engaging with the platform and providing valuable feedback to shape its ongoing development.
Review and Assesment
The partners behind the EOSC EU Node are deeply committed not only to delivering high-quality services in the years ahead but also to continuously evolving the Node and its role within the emerging EOSC Federation.
In March 2025, the EOSC EU Node contractors, subcontractors—including NORDUnet—and representatives from the European Commission gathered in Poznań for a three-day workshop hosted by the Polish NREN PSNC. The workshop served as a valuable opportunity to assess current status, review achievements in the past year, and collectively set priorities for 2025 and beyond.
A central focus for the coming year is supporting the establishment of the EOSC Federation and its first wave of candidate nodes. The EOSC EU Node is intended to serve as a reference implementation for federated access to scientific resources, enabling researchers and institutions to seamlessly share and access data and services. Access to the EU Node services is enabled in a federated manner and regulated via credits.
During the March meeting discussions also addressed the on-boarding of new services into the Node, highlighting the need for a structured process to ensure new services align with community expectations and meet a common quality baseline. Additionally, the team explored the enrollment of new nodes into the broader Federation, laying the groundwork for a more connected and interoperable European Open Science ecosystem.
The EOSC Federation and the road ahead
The establishment of the EOSC Federation is being shaped through the collaborative efforts of the EOSC Association and the broader tripartite partnership of the association, the European Commission, and the member states, with the EOSC Federation Handbook providing the initial guiding framework. As this ambitious vision is translated into practice, the remainder of 2025 will offer valuable lessons and insights for all stakeholders involved, helping refine the processes and structures that will support a federated approach to open science in Europe.
NORDUnet is proud to be part of this important transformation, contributing alongside Nordic NRENs Sunet and Sikt. Together with the European Commission and our Nordic and European NREN colleagues, we are excited to support the continued evolution of the EOSC Federation and to help shape a future where open, collaborative science is seamlessly enabled across Europe.
