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Particle physics strategy postponed due to Covid-19

Cern council president says ‘not the right time’ for update

The publication of an updated European strategy for particle physics research has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the European organisation for nuclear research Cern has announced.

“In these exceptional circumstances it is not the right time to release the strategy, and discussing with various stakeholders in the member states will take more time,” the president of Cern’s governing council Ursula Bassler said in an article published by the organisation’s magazine on 31 March. 

“Even though this will come as a disappointment to many physicists after all the effort put into the [strategy], everyone can understand, that in this situation, the process will last longer.”

Under discussion since 2017, the update is meant to account for advances in particle physics since a 2013 predecessor was adopted. It reached final draft stage in January and was due for final approval by the council in Budapest on 25 May. Now, Cern’s council will instead meet remotely on the date and “further discuss how to proceed”.