The initiative for CERN’s participation in, and coordination of, EU projects may originate either within or outside the Organization. The staff member responsible for the preparation and implementation of the project on behalf of CERN (Scientist in Charge) shall be designated by the Head of the Department in which the project will be carried out. For projects coordinated by CERN, this staff member shall assume the role of Project Coordinator, and their designation shall be agreed with the Director of the relevant Sector. 

Scientists in Charge and Project Coordinators of new EU proposals are reminded that the CERN Convention stipulates that the “Organization shall have no concern with work for military requirements.”

This provision of the Convention is interpreted as applying to CERN’s activities in the following manner: 

(a) CERN shall not enter into relationships with organisations whose principal or exclusive objective is of a military nature; and

(b) CERN shall not participate in activities whose principal or exclusive objective is of a military nature.

In application of the above: – For EU projects coordinated by CERN, requirement (a) shall be implemented at the stage when the consortium is being constituted, and requirement (b) shall be implemented during the proposal planning phase. In the event of a successful proposal, the same requirement shall be explicitly reflected in the Consortium Agreement, prepared by the Legal Service. – Where either requirement (a) or (b) is not fulfilled, the EU Office must be contacted immediately for guidance, including in the case of EU calls in which the dual use of technologies is permitted. 

The EU Office shall be informed of the intention to participate in, or to coordinate, an EU project proposal at the earliest possible stage, in order to provide advice and feedback during the initial phase of proposal preparation and to assess the suitability of the relevant Horizon Europe call. 

As a first step in the approval process for CERN’s participation in, or coordination of, any EU project proposal, the agreement of the relevant Head(s) of Department shall be obtained. The Director(s) of the Sector(s) concerned shall be duly informed of the intention to initiate preparatory work and, subsequently, to submit an EU proposal coordinated by CERN. 

For projects coordinated by CERN, no later than three months before the deadline of the relevant EU Programme call to which the proposal is intended to be submitted, the Project Coordinator shall submit to the EU Office a proposal description form containing the basic information required for the Executive Board’s preliminary approval (see Annex 1). 

The EU Office shall carry out a review of the EU project proposal, including, where necessary, consultations with the Project Coordinator, and shall transmit a recommendation to the Executive Board regarding the alignment of the proposed project with the Organization’s strategic priorities and the suitability of the relevant EU Programme call. 

The Executive Board shall consider all EU project proposals submitted through the EU Office and shall decide whether or not to grant preliminary approval for the preparation of the proposal under CERN coordination. 

Where preliminary approval is granted by the Executive Board, the nominated Project Coordinator (CERN staff member) may proceed with the establishment of the consortium, the designation of Work Package Coordinators, and the initiation of the preparatory work required to complete and submit the proposal to the EC for evaluation.