RT

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) will end its cooperation agreement with Moscow on December 1, the journal Nature has reported

Hundreds of Russian researchers working at the particle physics laboratory CERN in Switzerland will have to leave the Alpine country later this year, the journal Nature reported on Wednesday.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) plans to end its cooperation agreement with Russia on December 1, banning all scientists affiliated with the nation from its premises, the journal said. The scientists will also be stripped of any French or Swiss residency permits they currently hold, according to the report.

<snip>

Russia contributed financially to the organization and helped build the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, which achieved its first collisions in 2010. The collider has allowed scientists to confirm the existence of the Higgs boson, the particle that gives mass to other particles such as electrons and quarks.

The loss of Russia’s contribution to a high-intensity upgrade of the collider scheduled for 2029 will cost CERN some 40 million Swiss francs ($47 million), according to Nature. Cutting ties with Russia will also mean a setback for scientific research, Hannes Jung, a particle physicist at the German Electron Synchrotron in Hamburg, who also works with CERN, told Nature.

“It will leave a hole. I think it’s an illusion to believe one can cover that very simply by other scientists,” said Jung, who is also a member of the Science4Peace Forum, a group that campaigns against restrictions in international scientific cooperation.

https://www.rt.com/news/604402-switzerland-expel-russian-scientists/