The European part of A4E has started at the EAS meeting in Lyon in summer 2019. One of our first actions was to ask the EAS leadership to make their meeting more accessible and sustainable – by offering free virtual access to all. While our idea has initially been rejected by EAS council, we are very happy to see that the EAS have finally changed their mind and allow, for the first time in their history, free virtual access to this year’s annual meeting, 23 – 27 June.

There is still room for improvement, though, as the free online access only includes plenaries and symposia. An exception has been made for the special session on sustainability in astronomy, that can be followed on-line without cost on Tue, 24 June, 15 – 18.30 UTC+1.