178

HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-SEVENTH SESSION OF COUNCIL

17 and 18 September 2015

 

RESTRICTED SESSION

 

DIRECTOR GENERAL'S REPORT

The Director-General gave an oral report on the following matters:

  • Beamline for Schools
  • First CERN-SESAME School
  • Presentation of the CERN model to the United Nations community
  • Progress with fund-raising for outreach activities
  • VIP visits - Doomsday predictions for 23 September

 

LHC MATTERS

The Council heard oral status reports by Dr F. Bordry and Dr S. Bertolucci and congratulated the LHC machine groups and experimental collaborations on the successful start-up of the LHC at higher energy.

 

FRAMEWORK FOR CO-OPERATION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY (IRENA)

The Council unanimously decided to approve the proposed Framework for Co-operation with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) as set out in document CERN/3208/RA.

 

STATUS REPORT ON CERN'S ACTIVITIES FOR MEDICAL APPLICATIONS

The Council took note of document CERN/3206 and expressed appreciation for the detailed information it contained on medical applications at CERN.

 

PLAN OF MEASURES - IMPACT OF THE RECENT SWISS FRANC APPRECIATION: PROPOSAL BY THE MANAGEMENT-SEPTEMBER 2015

The Council unanimously decided to approve the proposed plan of measures to mitigate the impact of the recent Swiss franc appreciation, i.e. a one-off rebate of 60 MCHF on the 2015 contributions distributed proportionally among all the Member States, as set out in document CERN/FC/5931- CERN/3196.

 

MEDIUM-TERM PLAN FOR THE PERIOD 2016-2020 AND DRAFT BUDGET OF THE ORGANIZATION FOR THE SIXTY-SECOND FINANCIAL YEAR 2016

The Council decided to approve:

  • the overall strategy for the reference period set out in Chapters I and II of document CERN/SPC/1050-CERN/FC/5932-CERN/3197 and
  • the 2016 Draft Budget in 2015 prices set out in Chapter IV of the document.

The Council further took note of the Resources plan for the years 2016 to 2020 set out in Chapter III of the document and of the statement by the Director-General that the Management would continue its efforts to secure the necessary external funding to reinstate the TSR project in the Medium-Term Plan.

 

PROPOSAL FOR AUTHORISATION TO DEROGATE FROM THE STANDARD PROCUREMENT FRAMEWORK APPLICABLE AT CERN FOR PROJECTS PARTIALLY FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION

The Council decided to approve the proposed derogations from the standard procurement framework applicable at CERN as set out in paragraphs 2.7 and 2.8 of document CERN/FC/5935/RA-CERN/3203/RA, as far as required for the Organization’s participation in certain EU-funded projects under the Horizon 2020 framework programme.

 

PROPOSAL FOR AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE 9 OF THE CERN PROCUREMENT RULES "REQUIREMENTS WITHOUT COMPETITIVE TENDERING"

The Council unanimously decided to approve the amendment to Article 9 of the CERN Procurement Rules set out in document CERN/FC/5949/RA-CERN/3207/RA.

 

EUROPEAN STRATEGY MATTERS

In its special restricted session dedicated to European Strategy matters, the Council heard oral presentations:

  • on ECFA's activities (document CERN/SPC/1052-CERN/3199) and the ICFA meetings on 26 to 27 February and 19 August 2015,
  • on the ATTRACT initiative,
  • on the implementation of the CERN-EC Memorandum of Understanding (document CERN/SPC/1053/RA-CERN/3200/RA),
  • on the European particle physics communication network, EPPCN (document CERN/SPC/1055-CERN/3202),
  • from the international particle physics outreach group, IPPOG,
  • on the technology transfer network, HEPTech (document CERN/SPC/1054-CERN/3201), and
  • on the beamline for schools (BL4S) competition.

 

CLOSED SESSION

ENLARGEMENT PROCESS

CYPRUS

The Council decided by consensus to approve the proposed amendment, set out in document CERN/3204/RA, to the Agreement between CERN and the Republic of Cyprus concerning the granting of the status of Associate Membership as the Pre-stage to Membership at CERN: Extension of the deadline for internal approval of the Agreement by the Republic of Cyprus.

 

UKRAINE

The Council decided by consensus to approve the proposed amendment, set out in document CERN/3205/RA, to the Agreement between CERN and Ukraine concerning the granting of the status of Associate Membership: Extension of the deadline for the notification of the completion of the internal approval procedures of the Agreement by Ukraine.

 

INDIA

The Council took note of the formal application file submitted by India, which had been forwarded to the delegations on 9 September, and unanimously decided to establish a fact-finding task force in accordance with the applicable procedure set out in document CERN/2918/Rev., with the composition agreed at the June 2015 Closed Session, namely:

  • Dr S. Bertolucci, the CERN Director for Research and Scientific Computing,
  • Mr O. Martin of the French delegation,
  • Dr R. Voss, Head of International Relations.

 

AZERBAIJAN

The Council took note of the application file submitted by Azerbaijan, which had been forwarded to the delegations on 9 September, and of the Management’s intention to come forward with a proposal for the establishment and composition of a fact-finding task force in accordance with the applicable procedure set out in document CERN/2918/Rev. for approval at the December 2015 Closed Session.

 

OTHER ENLARGMENT DEVELOPMENTS

The Council took note of the oral status report by the Director-General on the progress of the applications from Brazil, Romania and Slovenia and on recent contacts with Canada and Lithuania.

 

CERN ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT POSITIONS FOR THE YEARS 2016 TO 2020 BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL DESIGNATE

The Council heard an oral presentation by the Director-General Designate, Dr F. Gianotti, and unanimously decided:

- to endorse the proposed organisational structure set out in document CERN/SPC/1051/RA-CERN/3198;

- to approve the appointments of the following Directors from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2020:

• Eckhard Elsen (DE), as Director for Research and Computing,

• Martin Steinacher (CH), as Director for Finance and Human Resources,

• Charlotte Warakaulle (DK), as Director for International Relations;

- to approve the appointments of the following Department Heads from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2020:

• Anne-Sylvie Catherin (FR), as Head of the HR Department,

• Paul Collier (UK), as Head of the BE Department,

• Gian Francesco Giudice (IT), as Head of the PHT Department,

• Frédéric Hemmer (BE), as Head of the IT Department,

• José Miguel Jimenez (ES), as Head of the TE Department,

• Manfred Krammer (AT), as Head of the PHE Department,

• Thierry Lagrange (BE), as Head of the IPT Department,

• Roberto Losito (IT), as Head of the EN Department,

• Lluis Miralles (ES), as Head of the SMB Department,

• Florian Sonnemann (DE), as Head of the FAP Department.

 

ELECTIONS

The Council unanimously elected Professor S. De Jong President of Council for a first term of office of one year, with effect from 1 January 2016.