TWO-HUNDREDTH SESSION OF THE COUNCIL
24-25 September 2020
RESTRICTED COUNCIL - 24 September 2020
DIRECTOR GENERAL’S REPORT
The Director-General gave an oral report on the following matters:
- CERN’s response to COVID-19 and status of the ramp-up of activities
- Update on the Science Gateway project.
Cooperation Agreement between the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Council unanimously decided to approve the conclusion of the proposed International Cooperation Agreement with Bosnia and Herzegovina concerning scientific and technical cooperation in high-energy physics.
LHC MATTERS
The Council heard a report by the Director for Accelerators and Technology, Dr Bordry, on the status of the LS2 and LIU activities and preparations for the HL-LHC, including details of the progress of work at each link in the accelerator chain, of the HL-LHC civil engineering work and of magnet testing, as well as the latest safety statistics.
The Council also heard a status report by the Director for Research and Computing, Professor Elsen, covering the latest physics results, the status of the upgrade work being carried out by the experiments during LS2, the latest developments on the computing front, including videoconferencing tools, and the measures being taken to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the various schedules.
The Council expressed appreciation to everyone working on the accelerators and the experiments, both at CERN and in the collaborating institutes, for their hard work and commitment to keeping the activities on track despite the difficult conditions over the past six months.
QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE AT CERN
The Council heard a report by the coordinator of the CERN quantum technology initiative, Dr Di Meglio, on the quantum technology activities at CERN and elsewhere, the goals of the CERN initiative, and the planned next steps.
ENERGY MANAGEMENT AT CERN
The Council heard a report by CERN’s energy coordinator, Dr Claudet, on CERN’s initiatives and achievements in the field of energy management.
UPDATE ON THE SITE MAINTENANCE, CONSOLIDATION AND NEW BUILDINGS PROGRAMME
The Council received a presentation by the Director for Finance and Human Resources, Dr Steinacher, on the programme for site maintenance and consolidation and new buildings over the years 2021-2030, based on the new financial scenario included in the 2020 Medium-Term Plan, as well as details of the methodology for defining priorities, the progress of the update of the 2030 masterplan and office space management considerations.
The Council voiced satisfaction with the increased allocation to site maintenance and consolidation in the 2020 Medium-Term Plan and with the programme of work outlined in the presentation.
Restructuring of the BNP Paribas Fortis loan
The Council took note of the information provided by Dr Steinacher on the new credit facility with UBS to offset the BNP Paribas Fortis loan and expressed satisfaction with the successful conclusion of the arrangement.
Medium-Term Plan for the period 2021-2025 and draft budget of the Organization for the sixty-seventh financial year 2021
The Council approved the overall strategy for the reference period 2021-2025, as outlined in Chapter I of document CERN/SPC/1141/Rev.-CERN/FC/6412/Rev.-CERN/3499/Rev., and elaborated upon in the Appendices (Chapter IV.1), and also approved the 2021 Draft Budget in 2020 prices set out in Chapter III of the document. The Council further took note of the resources plan for the years 2021 to 2025, as set out in Chapter II of the document.
pension fund
The Council heard a report by the Chair of the Pension Fund Governing Board, Ms Jamieson, on the activities of the Governing Board, the Actuarial and Technical Committee and the Investment Committee since her last report to the Council in June 2020. The Council noted, in particular, that the Fund’s year-to-date performance had stood at +3.09% as at 31.8.2020, compared with -0.31% for the average of Swiss pension funds, and voiced satisfaction with the positive investment performance achieved despite the market turbulence associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
EUROPEAN STRATEGY MATTERS - 25 September 2020
STATUS REPORT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A ROADMAP FOR ACCELERATOR R&D
The Council heard a presentation by Professor Rivkin in his capacity as Chair of the Laboratory Directors Group on the preliminary organisation and timeline for the development of a roadmap for accelerator R&D.
ecfa matters
The Council heard a presentation by the ECFA Chair, Professor D’Hondt, on the proposed organisation and timeline for the development of a roadmap for detector R&D. Professor D’Hondt also reported on the discussions at the ICFA meeting in Stanford from 20 to 22 February 2020 and at the virtual ICFA meeting on 2 August 2020, in particular with regard to the development of the International Linear Collider (ILC) project.
Report on the implementation of the work plan concerning the Memorandum of Understanding between the European Commission and CERN
The Council heard a presentation by the Head of CERN’s EU office, Dr Stavrev, supplemented by comments by Dr J. Klumpers of the European Commission, and agreed that the CERN-EC Memorandum of Understanding should continue to be updated to reflect new developments at the EU level and at CERN, such as the recent update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics.
Report from the European Particle Physics Communication Network (EPPCN)
The Council took note of the information set out in document CERN/SPC/1145-CERN/3519, and of the presentation by Ms Godinho, the Head of the Education, Communications and Outreach group, in her capacity as co-Chair of the EPPCN.
Report from the International Particle Physics Outreach Group (IPPOG)
The Council heard a report by the co-convenor of IPPOG, Dr Abreu on outreach initiatives across Europe over the past year.
CLOSED COUNCIL - 24 September 2020
Enlargement Process
The Council took note of the information provided by the Director-General on her latest contacts with Brazil, Estonia and Latvia.
Granting of Observer status to the USA in respect of the High-Luminosity LHC project
The Council unanimously decided to adopt a Resolution granting Observer status to the United States of America in respect of the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) project, for the duration of its construction and operation, in addition to the Observer status the USA already holds in respect of the LHC.
Elections and Appointments
The Council unanimously decided:
- to appoint Mr O. Malmberg as member and Chair of the Pension Fund Governing Board as from 25 September 2020, and
- to extend the mandate of the National Audit Office of Finland as External Auditors of the Organization for a further period of two years, as from 1 January 2021.
CERN organisational structure and management positions for the years 2021 to 2025
The Council heard a presentation by the Director-General and decided to approve the following appointments, from 1 January 2021 to 21 December 2025:
- Mr R. Bello (FR), as Director for Finance and Human Resources,
- Mr M. Lamont (UK), as Director for Accelerators and Technology,
- Mr J. Mnich (DE), as Director for Research and Computing,
- Ms C. Warakaulle (DK), as Director for International Relations,
- Ms M. Capeans (ES), as Head of the Site Management and Buildings department,
- Ms K. Foraz (FR), as Head of the Engineering department,
- Mr B. Goddard (UK), as Head of the Accelerator Systems department,
- Mr G. Giudice (IT), as Head of the Theoretical Physics department,
- Mr J-M. Jiménez (ES), as Head of the Technology department,
- Mr R. Jones (UK), as Head of the Beams department,
- Mr J. Purvis (UK), as Head of the Human Resources department,
- Mr F. Sonnemann (DE), as Head of the Finance and Administrative Processes department,
together with the following appointments ad interim, pending the appointment of successors in early 2021:
- Mr F. Hemmer (BE), as Head of the Information Technology department,
- Mr T. Lagrange (BE), as Head of the Industry, Procurement and Knowledge Transfer department.