HUNDRED AND FIFTY-NINTH SESSION OF COUNCIL
23 &24 June 2011
RESTRICTED SESSION
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE STAFF RULES & REGULATIONS RELATED TO EXCEPTIONAL CONTRACT EXTENSION BEYOND THE STATUTORY RETIREMENT AGE FOR MEMBERS OF THE PERSONNEL APPOINTED BY THE COUNCIL PURSUANT TO ARTICLE S II 1.01
The Council approved amendments to the Staff Rules and Regulations relating to the possibility for an exceptional contract extension beyond the statutory retirement age for members of the personnel appointed by the Council and then, in Closed Session, decided to approve the extension of the employment contract and term of office of Dr Stephen Myers as Director of Accelerators and Technology until 31 December 2013, i.e. until the end of Professor Heuer's mandate as Director-General.
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE STAFF RULES RELATED TO THE PERIODIC REVIEWS OF THE FINANCIAL & SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF MEMBERS OF THE PERSONNEL (ANNEX A1)
The Council also approved amendments to Annex A1 of the Staff Rules relating to the periodic reviews of the financial and social conditions of members of the personnel, thereby formally completing the 2010 five-yearly review.
PENSION FUND
Proposals by the Management concerning the completion of the package of measures towards restoring full funding of the CERN Pension Fund
Following on from its approval in December 2010 of the package of measures aimed at restoring the CERN Pension Fund to full funding, the Council, after extensive discussion and on the recommendation of the Finance Committee, decided to approve two remaining measures, relating to pension arrangements for future recruits and future beneficiairies from 1 January 2012 onwards, and adopted a formal Resolution regarding the overall package of measures for the restoration of the Pension Fund to full funding set out in Annex 2 of document CERN/FC/5537-CERN/2972.
The Council further took note that the Management would continue to monitor the evolution of life expectancy and the contribution rate of future recruitsand examine measures that could be offered to staff members on a voluntary basis.
QUESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL TO THE SPC
Interim report on: The scientific significance of the possible exclusion of the SM Higgs boson in the mass range 114-600 GeV and how it should be best communicated
The Council took note of the oral report by Professor Zwirner and of the interim report by the SPC Working Group chaired by Professor T. Wyatt set up to address the matter.
Given the level of public investment and interest in the LHC and implications of the LHC’s discovery potential for the natural and human science fields, the Council underlined the importance of a policy on communicating discoveries at the LHC that was geared to providing information accessible to politicians, the general public and other scientific disciplines and not just to the particle physics community.
MEDIUM-TERM PLAN FOR THE PERIOD 2012-2016 AND DRAFT BUDGET OF THE ORGANIZATION FOR THE FIFTY-EIGHTH FINANCIAL YEAR 2012
The Council took note of the information set out in document CERN/SPC/970-CERN/FC/5534-CERN/2970, of the presentation and additional explanations of the Management’s planning strategy for the period 2012-2016 and beyond by the Director-General, and, on the recommendation of the Finance Committee, decided:
- to approve the overall strategy for the reference period as presented in Chapters I and II;
- to take note of the Resources Plan for 2012 to 2016 in Chapter III.
- to approve the 2012 Draft Budget in 2011 prices as proposed in Chapter IV.
CLOSED SESSION
REPORT ON APPLICANT STATES
The Council took note of the status report by the Director-General on discussions with countries interested in the new Associate Membership and on progress towards accession to Associate Membership of the five current applicants for Membership, namely Cyprus, Israel, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey.
APPOINTMENT TO THE GOVERNING BOARD OF THE PENSION FUND
On the recommendation of the PFGB, the Council unanimously decided to appoint Mr A. Samper as professional member of the PFGB for a term of office of three years as from 27 June 2011.
SACA APPOINTMENT OF ONE MEMBER
The Council unanimously decided to elect Dr M. Johnsson as a member of the SACA for a period of three years.
OPEN SESSION
ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT AND ANNUAL ACCOUNTS (FINANCIAL STATEMENTS) FOR 2010
The Council, on the recommendation of the Finance Committee, decided to approve the Annual Progress Report (APR) for 2010 and endorse the External Auditors’ suggestions for future Annual Progress Reports.
On the recommendation of the Finance Committee, the Council also decided to approve the 2010 Annual Accounts and grant discharge to the Director-General.
CERN PENSION FUND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR 2010
On the recommendation of the Finance Committee, the Council decided to approve the Annual Report and Financial Statements of the CERN Pension Fund for the 2010 financial year set out in document CERN/FC/5531-CERN/2967, and to grant discharge to the Pension Fund Governing Board.
LHC PROGRESS REPORT
The Council heard detailed reports from the Director-General, Professor Heuer, the Director for Accelerators and Technology, Dr Myers, and the Director for Research and Computing, Professor Bertolucci, on the LHC machine and experiments. On behalf of all delegations, including those of the Candidate for Accession and the Observer States, the President, Professor Spiro, expressed appreciation to everyone involved in the LHC machine and experiments for their splendid achievements, and said that all Council members were now keeping their fingers firmly crossed for continued excellent performance of the machine and the exciting discoveries which may be just around the corner.