TWO-HUNDRED-AND-TWENTIETH SESSION OF THE COUNCIL
12-13 December 2024
RESTRICTED COUNCIL
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
The President reported that, since the Council’s September Session, he had given a short address at the official ceremony to mark CERN’s 70th anniversary on 1 October. He had also been invited to Budapest, where he had met Hungarian government officials, given a talk and visited the Wigner Research Centre, and to Athens, where he had given a talk at an event organised by the Greek Ministry of Development. He had attended meetings of CERN’s statutory bodies and convened two meetings of the President’s Group. In accordance with the applicable procedure, convergence had been achieved on the selection of Professor Mark Thomson (UK) as the next Director-General of CERN from 1 January 2026, and the formal decision on his appointment would be made in closed operating mode later in the day. Finally, he had met members of the ALICE and CMS collaborations in recent weeks and would meet members of ATLAS, LHCb and other experiments in the coming days to express his gratitude and appreciation for their great achievements over the past three years in the face of adversity and in spite of the challenging global context.
DIRECTOR-GENERAL’S REPORT
The Director-General reported on the following subjects:
- Successful heavy-ion run in 2024
- Tenth anniversary of the CERN & Society Foundation
- Recent events in the CERN Science Gateway
- Celebration of the 90th birthday of former CERN Director-General and Nobel laureate, Carlo Rubbia
- High-level ceremony to celebrate CERN’s 70th anniversary on 1 October
- Prospects for funding for the FCC
- Recent developments with respect to CERN’s geographical enlargement
CERN PENSION FUND
The Council heard a report by the Chair of the Pension Fund Governing Board (PFGB), Dr Buzatu, on the matters discussed at the Board's meeting on 21 November, the key member and beneficiary administration activities conducted by the Pension Fund Management Unit in the fourth quarter of 2024, the status of preparations for the 2025 periodic actuarial review, the risk limit and strategic asset allocation for 2025 and the Fund’s investment performance for the year to date, which had stood at 4.42% at the end of November.
The Council approved amendments to Chapter I of the Rules of the Pension Fund, as set out in the annex to document CERN/FC/6880-CERN/3881, for entry into force on 1 January 2025.
THE COST VARIATION INDEX FOR 2025
The Council took note of document CERN/FC/6866-CERN/3861 and, on the recommendation of the Finance Committee, approved:
- a basic salary and stipend index of 1.21%, and a subsistence allowances and family benefits index of 0.6%, bringing the overall cost-variation index for the personnel budget to 1.14%, including the applicable indexation for home leave of 2.24%;
- a materials budget cost-variation index of -1.73%; and
- an interest and financial costs index of 0.0%.
The Council further took note that the cost-variation indices for the personnel budget, the materials budget and interest and financial costs resulted in an overall cost-variation index for 2025 of -0.55% and that, in application of the “corridor principle”, the Member States’ contributions for 2025 would be indexed by 0%.
BUDGET OF THE ORGANIZATION FOR 2025
The Council took note of the final budget for 2025, in 2025 prices, as set out in document CERN/FC/6867-CERN/3862.
CERN’s revised graduate programme – a review
The Council took note of the results of a review of the revised Graduate Programme after a full year of operation, as set out in document CERN/FC/6868-CERN/3864.
Policy for fundraising from private donors for scientific activities at CERN
On the recommendation of the Scientific Policy Committee, the Council approved a new policy for fundraising from private donors for scientific activities at CERN.
REPORT ON NON-LHC EXPERIMENTS
The Council heard a presentation on the non-LHC experiments by the Director for Research and Computing, Professor Mnich, covering the new results from the CLOUD experiment relating to the production of atmospheric aerosols above rainforests; the recent activities at the Neutrino Platform, especially the progress made on the construction of two large cryostats for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) at the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) in the United States; developments with respect to the SCOAP3 consortium for open access publication; and recent highlights of the activities of the CERN Theory department.
LHC AND HL-LHC MATTERS
Status of the accelerator complex and upgrade
The Council heard a presentation by the Director for Accelerators and Technology, Dr Lamont, on the status of the accelerator complex and the associated upgrades, covering the extraordinary performance and availability of the injectors and the LHC and some of the challenges faced in 2024; the unprecedented integrated luminosity delivered to the LHC experiments in 2024; recent highlights of the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) project, including the conclusion of the 2024 Cost and Schedule Review that excellent progress had been made in all technical areas; and the ongoing preparation of the inner triplet string test facility designed to test the HL-LHC superconducting magnets and the associated systems before installation in the LHC tunnel.
Status of the LHC experiments and computing
The Council heard a presentation by the Director for Research and Computing, Professor Mnich, covering the LHC experiments’ excellent performance during the 2024 proton and heavy-ion runs, and highlights of their latest physics results; the status of the Phase 2 upgrades of ATLAS and CMS, the risks to their schedules and the mitigation measures in place; the excellent performance and reliability of the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) in support of the experiments’ computing needs; and the progress of the Next-Generation Triggers project funded by the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation.
The Council congratulated all the teams on the excellent performance of the accelerator complex, the experiments and computing in 2024.
FCC FEASIBILITY STUDY STATUS REPORT
The Council heard a presentation by the FCC Feasibility Study Leader, Dr Benedikt, underlining the recent development of a single superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) system for operation at the Z, WW and ZH energy points and the related advantages, the ongoing work to optimise the FCC-hh baseline, in particular the operating temperature of the magnet system, the organisation of public information meetings and the status of the geological site investigations.
REPORT ON THE STATUS OF THE UPDATE OF THE EUROPEAN STRATEGY FOR PARTICLE PHYSICS
The Council heard a presentation by the Strategy Secretary, Professor Jakobs, covering the organisation of work within the Physics Preparatory Group (PPG) as well as the guidelines given to the national high-energy physics communities and the proponents of accelerator projects regarding their input for the Strategy update and preliminary ideas for working groups of the European Strategy Group (ESG).
REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR FUTURE ACCELERATORS IN 2024
The Council took note of the annual report of the European Committee for Future Accelerators (ECFA) for 2024, as set out in document CERN/SPC/1247-CERN/3865, and of the presentation by the ECFA Chair, Professor Sphicas, outlining recent changes in ECFA membership, the country visits by Restricted ECFA (RECFA), the work of the ECFA panels, joint ECFA-NuPECC-APPEC activities, the participation of ECFA in the European Strategy for Particle Physics and the schedule of ECFA and RECFA activities for 2025.
REPORT ON COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND CERN
The Council heard a presentation by Dr Stavrev of the EU group in CERN’s Industry, Procurement and Knowledge Transfer (IPT) department, summarising the main activities carried out in 2024 in the various areas of cooperation under the Memorandum of Understanding between CERN and the European Commission, including details of CERN’s participation in proposals and projects under the Horizon Europe programme of funding for research and innovation.
Status report on participation of non-Member States in the CERN Programmes 2023-2024
The Council heard a report by the Director for International Relations, Ms Warakaulle, highlighting the contributions of non-Member States to the various CERN programmes and trends in the number and geographical breakdown of users, as well as the framework for and evolution of international cooperation agreements.
Report from the European Particle Physics Communication Network
The Council took note of document CERN/SPC/1249-CERN/3868 and of the report by the co-convenor of the European Particle Physics Communication Network (EPPCN), Mr Marsollier, on the activities of the network from October 2023 to October 2024, focussing in particular on communication on the opening of the CERN Science Gateway in October 2023, CERN’s 70th anniversary celebrations and the FCC Feasibility Study mid-term report, and on the EPPCN working group to support communication on the update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics.
Report from the International Particle Physics Outreach Group
The Council heard a report by the co-Chair of the International Particle Physics Outreach Group (IPPOG), Dr Adam-Bourdarios, describing the structure and activities of IPPOG, the dissemination of its success stories via its annual report, the establishment of the IPPOG Forum of Experts and IPPOG’s collaboration with neighbouring fields.
Timetable for Council Sessions and committee meetings in 2026
The Council approved the timetable for Council Sessions and Committee meetings for 2026, as set out in document CERN/3869.
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closed COUNCIL
ENLARGEMENT PROCESS
Council Resolution on the admission of the Republic of Slovenia as a Member State of CERN
The Council adopted Resolution CERN/3873, admitting Slovenia as a Member State of the Organization, subject to:
i) deposit by Slovenia of its instruments of accession, without reservations, to the Convention, including its Financial Protocol, and to the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, and the entry into force of both legal instruments in respect of Slovenia; and,
ii) fulfilment by Slovenia of the financial obligations resulting from its status as an Associate Member State in the pre-stage to Membership of CERN.
UPDATE OF THE EUROPEAN STRATEGY FOR PARTICLE PHYSICS: SELECTION OF THE VENUE FOR THE DRAFTING SESSION (1-5 DECEMBER 2025)
The Council decided to hold the Drafting Session for the next update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics in Monte Verità, Ascona, Switzerland, from 1 to 5 December 2025.
The Council further took note that the special Council Session dedicated to deciding upon the update of the Strategy would be held on 29 May 2026 in Budapest, Hungary.
ELECTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS
a) Scientific Policy Committee
• Reappointment of the Chair
On the recommendation of the Scientific Policy Committee, the Council reappointed Dr Hugh Montgomery as Chair of the Committee for a third and final term of office of one year with effect from 1 January 2025.
• Appointment of the Vice-Chair
On the recommendation of the Scientific Policy Committee, the Council appointed Professor Klaus Blaum as Vice-Chair of the SPC for a single term of office of one year with effect from 1 January 2025.
b) Finance Committee - reappointment of the Chair
The Council reappointed Dr Laurent Salzarulo as Chair of the Finance Committee for a third and final term of office of one year with effect from 1 January 2025.
c) Council - appointment of two Vice-Presidents
The Council appointed Professor Florencia Canelli (Switzerland) and Professor Klaus Desch (Germany) as Vice-Presidents of the Council for a first term of office of one year with effect from 1 January 2025.
d) Audit Committee: appointment of a Council member to the Audit Committee
The Council appointed Dr Pål Sørgaard (Norway) as Council member of the Audit Committee for an initial period of three years, from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2027.
Appointment of the next Director-General
The Council appointed Professor Mark Thomson as the Director-General of CERN for a period of five years, from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2030.
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