Heads of state and government celebrate 70 years of CERN in Geneva

Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports

Bern, 01.10.2024 - On 1 October, representatives of the countries that belong to or are associated with the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) gathered in Geneva to celebrate its 70th anniversary. On behalf of Switzerland as a founding member and host country, President Viola Amherd paid tribute to CERN's achievements.

CERN as an institution symbolises humanity's thirst for knowledge and is also a powerful example of the successes that can be achieved when states work together rather than against each other, said President Amherd. Heads of state and government, ministers from CERN's 24 member states and representatives of associated and observer countries attended the anniversary event.

CERN was founded in 1954 to ensure cooperation between European countries in the peaceful use of nuclear and particle physics. The organisation is committed to cutting-edge research in the field of high-energy physics. Since its inception, CERN has made ground-breaking contributions to our understanding of the fundamental building blocks of matter and the forces that act between them. In 2013, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the discovery of the Higgs particle at CERN. It was while working at CERN that Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. Today, CERN employs 2,500 people and works with around 10,000 visiting scientists from all over the world.

In her speech, Ms Amherd paid tribute to the achievements of CERN's staff since the organisation's foundation, and to the fruitful cooperation between Switzerland and the organisation and its participating countries. She also referred to Switzerland's Foreign Policy Strategy 2024-2027, which sets the course for supporting CERN's development in the long term. In the autumn session, Parliament approved an amendment to the law giving the Confederation the power to authorise CERN buildings on Swiss territory on the basis of a sectoral plan.

Ms Amherd used the meeting of heads of state and government as an opportunity for bilateral talks. With President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, she discussed the ongoing negotiations between Switzerland and the European Union, and the security situation in Europe. During her meeting with Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, she discussed bilateral issues, including research cooperation between Switzerland and Slovakia, as well as the war in Ukraine.

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