AFAIK from my colleague doing PhD in Europe, one of the main issues is Impact Factor. The universities play "gather the points" game, and you get, say, 35 point

AFAIK from my colleague doing PhD in Europe, one of the main issues is Impact Factor. The universities play "gather the points" game, and you get, say, 35 points for publishing in a major (paywalled, expensive) title while you may get only, say, 18 or 10 points if you published in another (non-paywalled, less expensive, less reputable) journal. If you have less points than other people, you don't get a grant, or you're more likely to not have your contract extended etc. The ministry reevaluates the (journal's IF<->points per publication) mapping each year, but it takes a few years for a new journal to get significant number of points. Publishing in low-IF journals if your paper could be accepted by a major one is a career suicide. The hidden implication is that the system reinforces the power of the all-powerful top journals. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_factor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_factor