155

HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FIFTH SESSION OF COUNCIL

RESTRICTED, CLOSED and SESSIONS

17 & 18 JUNE 2010

 

RESTRICTED SESSION
17 June 2010

 

LHC PROGRESS REPORT

The Council took note of the oral presentation by the Director-General of his vision for LHC operation in the short, medium and long terms, of the reports by the Director for Accelerators and Technology, Dr Myers, on the LHC start-up, by the Director for Research and Computing, Professor Bertolucci, on the results of the first data analyses by the experiments and on the performance of the LHC Computing Grid, and by the Chairmen of the Scientific Policy Committee and the Finance Committee.

The Council congratulated everyone concerned for the outstanding performance of the LHC machine, experiments and computing grid, and in particular for the start-up of physics operation with collisions of 3.5 TeV per beam on 30 March 2010, and agreed that the current progress of LHC operations placed CERN on the verge of opening up a new era of particle physics.

 

WORKING GROUP ON THE SCIENTIFIC AND GEOGRAPHICAL ENLARGEMENT OF CERN OF CERN

Scientific Enlargement of the CERN Programme

The Council took note of document CERN/SPC/943/Rev.2-CERN/2899/Rev.2, of the introductory remarks by the President and of the presentation by the co-Chair of the Working Group, Professor Petronzio, and on the recommendation of the Scientific Policy Committee, unanimously decided , to approve the proposal as set out in Section 4, namely that further development of the potential scientific enlargement of the CERN programme:

• should be continued within the framework of the European Strategy Sessions of Council within the context and according to the time-scale of the forthcoming update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics,

• taking into account the various considerations expressed by delegations, in particular concerning scientific and resource implications as well as governance issues (c.f. section 3, above),

• with a remit extended to include discussion of the roles of other key partners in the implementation of the European Strategy for Particle Physics, notably the National Laboratories and the European Commission through the Memorandum of Understanding between CERN and the European Commission.

Report on the Geographical Enlargement of CERN

The Council took note of document CERN/2918/Rev., of the presentation by Professor Petronzio and of the introductory statement by the President regarding the principal issues remaining to be addressed by the Working Group, namely governance and attendance at European Strategy Sessions. .

The Council agreed that, in addition to the issues mentioned by the President, two other important points raised by delegations during the discussion also needed to be addressed in the coming months, namely the special contribution provided for in Article VII 4 of the Convention and the model agreement with Associate Members.

On that basis, the Council unanimously decided, to approve the following Resolution, set out in Annex 3 of the document:

"THE COUNCIL, … DECIDES

  1. to approve the proposals set out in sections IV and V of document CERN/2918/Rev. relating to Membership, a new Associate Membership status, Observer Status and International Co-operation Agreements, and in particular:

• to open Membership of CERN to all States irrespective of their geographical location and to grant Membership under the relevant conditions and arrangements set out in section IV of document CERN/2918/Rev.;

• to create the status of Associate Membership, open to all States irrespective of their geographical location, defined in the relevant paragraphs of section IV of document CERN/2918/Rev.;

• that the granting of Associate Membership will be subject to a decision by the Council taken by consensus and the conclusion of an Agreement setting out the rights and obligations as Associate Member, on the basis of a model Agreement to be approved by the Council;

• to phase out the current Observer Status arrangements concluded with States over a period of time sufficient to enable them to conclude alternative, mutually beneficial arrangements for their future relations with CERN in accordance with §94 of document CERN/2918/Rev.;

  1. to abolish the status of “Candidate for Accession” as created in 2001 (CERN/CC/2368/Rev.), on the understanding that this shall not affect the Council’s decision of 11 December 2008 to admit Romania as a Candidate for Accession (CERN/2831 item 12), provided that Romania completes its internal procedures for approval of the related Agreement signed on 11 February no later than 31 December 2010;
  2. to abolish the Associate Status at CERN for non-European States created in 2002 (CERN/CC/2428/Rev.2).”

The Council, recognising that five States had already submitted applications for Membership of the Organization, further decided to determine subsequently how to apply the new arrangements to the five States concerned, taking into account its decision of December 2009 to proceed with the technical verification of those applications without prejudice to the work of the geographical enlargement process.

Finally, the Council took note of a preliminary indicative timetable for the further work outlined by the President and agreed that the Working Group should aim to complete the outstanding work, if possible, by the end of the 2010.

Update of Report on Relations with non-Member States

The Council took note of the information set out in the White Paper entitled "Report on discussions between the CERN Management and the non-Member States invited to the meeting of the Working Group on 3 September 2009" and of the oral presentation by the Director-General.

 

CO-OPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN CERN AND THE GOVERNMENT OF TUNISIA

The Council took note of the information set out in document CERN/2923/RA and of the additional information provided by the Director-General and decided, by nineteen votes in favour and none against, to approve the Cooperation Agreement between CERN and the Government of Tunisia set out therein.

 

AGREEMENTS RELATED TO THE LAW APPLICABLE TO CONTRACTORS PROVIDING SERVICES OF A TRANSNATIONAL NATURE ON THE ORGANIZATION'S SITE

The Council took note of document CERN/2919, of the introductory remarks by the Director-General and of the statements by the Swiss and French delegations.

The Council took note of the draft Bilateral Agreement between France and Switzerland amending the 13 September 1965 Convention between France and Switzerland relating to the extension of the Organization’s site into the French territory, set out in Annex 1, and decided, by nineteen votes in favour and none against, to approve the draft Tripartite Agreement between France, Switzerland and CERN relating to the law applicable to contractors providing services of a transnational nature on the Organization’s site, set out in Annex 2.

 

PENSION FUND

  1. Report by the Chairman of the Governing Board

The Council took note of the oral reports by the Chairman of the Pension Fund Governing Board (PFGB), Professor Ferrini, on:

  • the Board’s activities since March 2010, and
  • the outcome of further actuarial calculations concerning the CERN Pension Fund , and of further clarifications provided to questions raised by delegations.
  1. Amendments to Chapter I of the Rules of the CERN Pension Fund

The Council took note of document CERN/2913, of the presentation by Professor Ferrini and of the report by Dr Steinacher on the related discussions within the SACA, and agreed to defer its examination of the document to the September 2010 meeting in order to give delegations more time to consider the implications of the proposed amendments in the light of statements made during the discussion and the related discussions within the SACA.

  1. Report from the Advisory Group to Council

The Council took note of the report by Professor Riska in his capacity as Chairman of the Advisory Group and examined and extensively discussed three documents tabled by the President, namely:

  1. “Measures to restore full funding of the Pension Fund” (6 May 2010);
  2. “Outcome of further actuarial simulations concerning the CERN Pension Fund (the text of the second oral report by the Chairman of the PFGB under previous Agenda sub-item);
  3. A draft Council decision, dated 16/6/10, based upon 1) above.

In view of the timing of the submission of the documents, it was not possible to submit the matter to a formal vote at the present Session. Nevertheless, in order to avoid unnecessary delay in the urgent process of re-establishing the funding equilibrium of the Pension Fund, the Council recognised that this situation should not hold up the start of concertation by the Management with the Staff Association, using the three documents tabled by the President and the statements by delegations during the discussion as guidelines, with a view to a package of measures being agreed at a later date, if possible in September.

 

MEDIUM TERM PLAN FOR THE PERIOD 2011-2015 AND DRAFT BUDGET OF THE ORGANIZATION FOR THE FIFTY-SEVENTH FINANCIAL YEAR 2011

The Council took note of the information set out in document CERN/SPC/948-CERN/FC/5450-CERN/2915 and of the report by the Chairman of the Finance Committee on the Committee’s examination of the document at its June meeting, and in particular its decisions:

  • to defer its recommendations regarding the overall strategy for the reference period and the 2011 Draft Budget in 2010 prices;
  • to aim to arrive at recommendations on those matters at its September 2010 meeting;
  • to hold an extraordinary Finance Committee meeting on 25 August, preceded by a meeting of the Science Policy Committee, to examine scenarios prepared by the Management on the basis of the parameters agreed by the Finance Committee at its June meeting and in the light of a number of items of additional information requested by the Committee .

In preparation for further bilateral discussions in the matter between the Management and individual Member States, the Council further requested the Management to make the presentation made by Mr Lettow to the Finance Committee on document CERN/SPC/948-CERN/FC/5450 CERN/2915 available on Indico.

 

CLOSED SESSION

 

ELECTIONS

 

COUNCIL

One new Vice-President of Council

The Council decided, by consensus, to extend the term of office of Professor B. Sitar as Vice-President of the Council for an exceptional period of six months until 31 December 2010 and to elect his replacement at the December 2010 Closed Session.

 

EXTENSION OF THE MANDATE OF THE EXTERNAL AUDITORS, CORTE DEI CONTI

The Council took note of the information set out in document CERN/2917/RA and decided, by nineteen votes in favour and none against, to extend the mandate of the External Auditors, the Italian Court of Audit (Corte dei Conti), for a further period of two years, as from 1st January 2011.

 

 

OPEN SESSION

 

ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT AND ANNUAL ACCOUNTS (FINANCIAL STATEMENTS) FOR 2009

The Council took note of the general introductory presentation by Mr Manna on the External Auditors’ work on the Annual Progress Report, the Financial Statements of the Organization and the Financial Statements of the Pension Fund.

The Council further took note of the External Auditors' assessment and comments on the 2009 Annual Progress Report set out in document CERN/FC/5439 CERN/2906 and of the assessment and comments by the Scientific Policy Committee, the Finance Committee and the Standing Advisory Committee on Audits.

On the recommendation of the Finance Committee, the Council decided, by unanimous vote of the delegations represented and voting :

  • to approve document CERN/SPC/938/Rev.-CERN/FC/5412/Rev.-CERN/2893/Rev., and
  • to endorse the External Auditors’ suggestions for future Annual Progress Reports. (CERN/FC/5442-CERN/2909)

The Council took note of documents CERN/FC/5440-CERN/2907, CERN/FC/5441-CERN/2908 and CERN/FC/5442-CERN/2909, of the presentation by Dr Franceschetti on behalf of the External Auditors, of the statement by the Director of Administration and Infrastructure, Mr Lettow, and of the report by the Chairman of the Finance Committee and Standing Advisory Committee on Audits and, on the recommendation of the Finance Committee, decided, by unanimous vote of the delegations represented and voting:

  • to approve the 2009 Annual Accounts set out in document CERN/FC/5440-CERN/2907 and
  • to grant discharge to the Director-General.

 

CERN PENSION FUND

  1. Annual Report and Financial Statements 2009
  2. Report by the External Auditors on the Accounts of the CERN Pension Fund for the Financial Year 2009
  3. Report by the External Auditors on the Accounts of the CERN Pension Fund for the Financial Year 2009: Comments by the Administration of the Fund

The Council took note of documents CERN/FC/5443-CERN/2910, CERN/FC/5444-CERN/2911 and CERN/FC/5445-CERN/2912, of the statements by the Chairman of the Pension Fund Governing Board, Professor Ferrini, of the report by Mr Franceschetti on behalf of the External Auditors and of the report by the Chairman of the Finance Committee and the Standing Advisory Committee on Audits.

On the recommendation of the Finance Committee, the Council decided, by unanimous vote of the delegations represented and voting:

  • to approve the Annual Report and Financial Statements of the CERN Pension Fund for the 2009 financial year set out in document CERN/FC/5443-CERN/2910, and
  • to grant discharge to the Pension Fund Governing Board.
 

CODE OF CONDUCT

The Council took note of document CERN/FC/5447-CERN/2914, of the presentation by the Head of the Human Resources Department, Mrs Catherin, of the report by the Chairman of the Finance Committee and of the comments made by delegations during the discussion.

The Council strongly endorsed the Code of Conduct and took note that it would become applicable with effect from 1st July 2010 and be supplemented by an online list of Frequently Asked Questions.

The Council also took note of the next steps, including the creation of an Ombuds Office with effect from 1st July 2010 and of the appointment of Dr V. Vuillemin as the first incumbent of that office.

 

LHC STATUS REPORT

The Council took note of the oral presentation by the Director-General of his vision for LHC operation in the short, medium and long terms, and of the reports by the Director for Accelerators and Technology, Dr Myers, on the LHC start-up, by the Director for Research and Computing, Professor Bertolucci, on the results of the first data analyses by the experiments and on the performance of the LHC Computing Grid, and by the Chairmen of the Scientific Policy Committee and the Finance Committee.

The Council congratulated everyone concerned on the outstanding performance of the LHC machine, experiments and computing grid and, in particular, on the start-up of physics operation with collisions of 3.5 TeV per beam on 30 March 2010, and agreed that the current progress of LHC operations placed CERN on the verge of opening up a new era of particle physics.

 

REPORT BY THE SCIENTIFIC SECRETARY OF THE EUROPEAN STRATEGY SESSIONS

The Council took note of the oral report by the Scientific Secretary, Professor Stapnes, and of the statements by delegations and the European Commission representative during the discussion.

The Council agreed to accept the invitation of the Belgium delegation and of the European Commission to hold its Restricted and European Strategy Sessions in September 2012 in Brussels for the formal update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics.

 

PRESENTATION BY THE CHAIRMAN OF FALC

The Council took note of the oral report by the Chairman of FALC, Dr Davidson.

 

DRAFT TIMETABLE FOR COUNCIL SESSIONS AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS 2011

The Council took note of the information set out in document CERN/2916/Draft, as amended, and decided, by unanimous vote of the delegations present, to approve the draft timetable for Council Sessions and committee meetings in 2011, set out therein.

 

OTHER BUSINESS

Developments in neutrino physics at the Gran Sasso Laboratory

Departure of a Department Head

Departure of two Member State Delegates