HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SECOND SESSION OF COUNCIL
RESTRICTED AND CLOSED SESSIONS
17 SEPTEMBER 2009
RESTRICTED SESSION
17 SEPTEMBER 2009
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Letter from the President of the ESO Council concerning the financial position of the Pension Fund
Application for membership by Slovenia
The Council took note that Slovenia had submitted a formal application for membership together with the application file.
Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between CERN and the European Commission
Organization of Council Sessions
The Council agreed that the Open Sessions of the regular CERN Council and the European Strategy Open Sessions should henceforth be combined.
DIRECTOR-GENERAL'REPORT
- Refurbishment of the 6th-floor Council meeting room
- New CERN travelling exhibition
- Information on Summer students
- Work in progress following the survey of CERN Users
- Dissemination of information on CERN vacancies in the Member States
- Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the European Commission
MEMBER STATE MATTERS
Developments in Member States relevant for CERN
No developments were reported.
NON-MEMBER STATES MATTERS
Report from the Working Group on the Scientific and Geographical Enlargement of CERN
The Council agreed:
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to authorise the Director-General to enter into bilateral discussions with some non-Member States with a view to probing their intentions and wishes regarding closer ties with the Organization;
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to request the Director-General to make a written report on the outcome of those bilateral discussions to the Council and to orally provide that information to the members of the Working Group so it can be taken into account in its considerations;
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that it would be premature for the Working Group to submit a Green Paper on all aspects of its remit by December 2009, especially on issues related to geographical enlargement;
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to invite the Working Group to explore the scope for submitting, in December 2009, specific recommendations on aspects of its remit not closely related to the issue of geographical enlargement;
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that a full transcript of the discussion should be made available to the members of the Working Group.
The Council further confirmed that, as agreed in June 2009, the membership applications already received should be on the agenda of the December Council.
SCALE OF CONTRIBUTIONS - FURTHER DISCUSSION ON HOW TO PROCEED
The Council endorsed that:
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the 2010 scale of contributions should be approved, in December, on the basis of the existing method of calculation;
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the Management should prepare a further Green Paper to be submitted to the Finance Committee at its November 2009 meeting containing two scenarios:
- the Management should clarify in November the voting procedures required in the Finance Committee and the Council for approval of a new method of calculating the scale of contributions;
- the Management should submit to the Finance Committee in November 2009 a scale of contributions for 2010 based on the new method, for information purposes only.
CERN PENSION FUND MATTERS
- Report by the Chairman of the Governing Board
The Council took note of the oral report by the Chairman of the Pension Fund Governing Board, Professor Ferrini, on the activities of the Pension Fund Governing Board and Investment Committee since June 2009.
The Council agreed that all future reports by the Chairman of the Pension Fund Governing Board would contain key indicators such as the current number of beneficiaries and the value of the Pension Fund’s assets, benefits and contributions in order to help the Council monitor the development of the Fund.
- Report from the Working Group 2
The Council took note of the letter received from the President of the ESO Council, of the information set out in the White Paper, of the presentation by the Chairman of the Pension Fund Governing Board and of the statements by delegations, and agreed to defer in-depth discussion of the White Paper to its December 2009 Session, thereby giving delegations sufficient time for consultation, but to continue the preliminary exchange of views at the end of the Closed Session under Item 20 of the present Agenda "Other Business".
CERN AUDITS
- Results from discussion with the External Auditors
The Council took note of the introductory remarks by the President and of the report by the Finance Committee Chairman regarding the actions they have taken since the June meeting.
- Continued discussion on the future of the CERN Audit Committee
The Council unanimously endorsed the action proposed by the Chairman of the Finance Committee, namely to convene a small working group with a view to coming forward with a proposal for the CERN audit set-up with effect from 2010. In addition, the Council took note that the Chairman of the Finance Committee would provide the Council with an update on the discussions at its Restricted Session in December 2009.
CONFIRMATION OF THE ACCESS STATUS OF DOCUMENTS
The Council unanimously decided to approve the access status of the documents, as shown on the Agenda.
OTHER BUSINESS
The Council agreed to request the Management to present a report, at its December 2009 Session, on access control measures regarding the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid.
CLOSED SESSION
ELECTIONS:
COUNCIL
President of Council – Interview of candidates
The Council took note of the oral presentations by the candidates, and of their responses to the questions posed by delegations.
President of Council – Selection of candidate
The Council agreed on the candidature to put forward for appointment by the CERN Council in December 2009.
Vice-President of Council – Preliminary discussion of the full list of candidates
OTHER BUSINESS
Continued preliminary discussion of the White Paper from the PFGB.