On 30 May, at a special meeting hosted by the European Commission in Brussels, the CERN Council formally adopted an update to the European Strategy for Particle Physics. Since the original European strategy was put into place seven years ago, the LHC has begun routine operation, producing its first major results at centre of mass energies of 7 TeV and 8 TeV, and the global particle-physics landscape has evolved with new neutrino and precision measurements. The updated strategy takes these changes into account and charts a leading role for Europe in a field that is increasingly globalized.
An important issue for the strategy is to ensure that Europe stays at the forefront of particle physics research, which pays dividends in terms of knowledge, innovation, education and training. CERN, in close collaboration with research institutions in its member states and under the guidance of the CERN Council, will co-ordinate future European engagement with global particle-physics projects in other regions.
The strategy emphasizes that Europe and the European particle-physics community should exploit the LHC to its full potential over many years via a series of planned upgrades. Alongside the LHC, the community should also be open to engaging in large particle-physics projects outside Europe and continuing to develop novel techniques for global future accelerator projects. European particle physics should maintain a healthy base in fundamental physics research, with universities and national laboratories contributing to a strong European focus through CERN. Last but not least, the community should continue to invest substantial effort in communication, education and outreach activities to engage global publics with science.
• The updated strategy is reproduced in full in a new brochure Accelerating science and innovation: societal benefits of European research in Particle Physics: http://cds.cern.ch/record/1551933. For the original statement, see http://council.web.cern.ch/council/en/EuropeanStrategy/ESParticlePhysics.html.
