Published on 02.03.2026
Springer Nature and SAGE: No Deal
As part of their national Open Access strategy, Swiss higher education institutions aim to make publicly funded research freely accessible while ensuring financially sustainable publishing models. To that end, Swissuniversities and the Consortium of Swiss University Libraries have been negotiating with Springer Nature and SAGE respectively. Unfortunately, these discussions have not led to acceptable agreements for 2026. As a result, Switzerland has entered a no‑deal situation as of 1 January 2026 with both publishers.
This development affects both open access publishing and, potentially, access to newly published journal content.
Open Access publishing
Under the previous national agreements, researchers at Swiss institutions could publish open access in many Springer Nature and SAGE journals without paying article processing charges (APCs) themselves. These costs were covered centrally through the Read & Publish agreements.
As of 2026, this automatic coverage no longer applies. Researchers can still submit and publish in these journals, but APCs will not be covered under a national agreement during the no‑deal period.
If you are planning to publish this year, we recommend checking funding options carefully and considering alternative routes such as Green Open Access (depositing the accepted manuscript in the institutional repository) where appropriate.
Access to journal content
Access to content published up to the end of 2025 remains unchanged under existing subscriptions.
Information regarding access to new content published from 2026 onwards is being communicated separately. As experienced in previous no‑deal situations, access conditions may change, and alternative access routes (such as interlibrary loan or repository versions) may become more important.
Why this is happening ?
Across Europe, negotiations with large commercial publishers aim to secure fair pricing models and support the transition to open science. When proposed agreements do not meet these objectives, national consortia may decide not to renew them. Similar situations have occurred in recent years with other publishers.
Why this matters ?
The continuous rise in publication costs at major publishers has raised concerns across the academic community and prompted institutions to seek more sustainable models of scholarly communication. The current no-deal situation reflects broader efforts to encourage greater transparency, affordability, and alignment with the principles of open science.
What you can do ?
The no-deal situation also comes with explicit recommendations from swissuniversities:
- As an author: Consider alternatives to Springer Nature and SAGE journals.
- If avoiding those publishers is not feasible: Use a hybrid publication model and make your publications available in institutional repositories to fulfill your open access obligations (Green OA).
- As a reviewer: Reconsider your activity for journals from those publishers.
- As an editor: Advocate for the Swiss research community.
These measures are intended to keep pressure on publishers to offer sustainable pricing models while ensuring that publicly funded research remains as accessible as possible.
Solidarity across the research community is essential. By following these recommendations, researchers contribute to a fairer, more open, and more sustainable publishing system—one that benefits science and society alike.
More information
- Official communication from swissuniversities: Negotiations with Springer Nature: No-deal Situation
- Communication from the the Consortium of Swiss University Libraries: Read & Publish Agreement 2026-2028: Update on the negotiations