In July 2008, the European Commission issued a Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy COM(2008) 466/3. The Green Paper focussed on the role of copyright in fostering dissemination of knowledge for research, science and education, and was intended as the starting point for a structured debate on the long-term future of copyright policy in these fields.

The response by EIFL included general comments on the impact of the EU copyright acquis on partner libraries worldwide, the contribution of libraries to the knowledge economy, copyright exceptions in the digital environment, and the three-step test, as well as specific comments on exceptions for the benefit of libraries and archives, people with a disability, and the dissemination of works for teaching and research purposes.