CERN - HIGH LUMINOSITY LARGE HADRON COLLIDER

Financing of part of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) investment activities, related to studies, upgrades and implementation of new systems.

The High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) project represents an upgrade to increase the capacity (luminosity increase) of the current LHC accelerator at CERN. The project concerns the development and construction of accelerator system components, which will be installed in a tunnel 27 km in circumference, some 100 metres below ground, located between the Jura mountain range in France and Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

The safety and radiation protection for the CERN installations is regulated by a tripartite convention between CERN, the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) and the Office Fédéral de la Santé Publique Suisse. Given the increase of energy levels, it is expected that the site will require updated operating authorisations; during the due diligence the services will review the requirements and the status of the associated approval processes. Although research infrastructure is not specifically mentioned in Annex II of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 2011/92/EU, the services will verify if any related requests have been put forward by the relevant authorities, and will review their status along with any other environmental and safety-related issues.

CERN is an intergovernmental organisation with 21 member states and has defined and implemented the CERN procurement rules for the procurement of supplies and services. Like other large-scale pan-European research infrastructures, the public procurement is not covered by the provisions of the Directive on Public Procurement (2004/18/EC), as it falls under the exemption mentioned under the directive's Article 15 point (c). Nevertheless during the due diligence the services will review that the procedures ensure the best interests of the project.