President Türk Calls for Slovenia to Join CERN

Ljubljana, 8.9.2009  |  press release

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, has formally called upon the Slovenian Government to file an application for membership of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) as soon as possible. In his letter, President Türk explained that CERN represents one of the main centres of scientific development in the world. "The development of science and innovation and technological progress can, in a time of global economic crisis, be considered one of the fundamental methods of dealing with its consequences," he noted, highlighting a number of advantages of membership of the institution.

Dr Türk visited CERN at the invitation of its management during his recent visit to Geneva. There he was shown the activities of the institution, which assembles thousands of the world's most eminent scientists and operates with an annual budget of more than one billion euros. CERN has given the world numerous advances in theory and innovations, thus enriching economic development and everyday life for all of us, including our daily use of the Internet. President Türk's hosts also emphasised the important contribution of the renowned Slovenia scientists employed in CERN to further developments in physics, computer technology and other related sciences.

Slovenia has already expressed its intention this year to become a full member of CERN. During the talks with President Türk, the management of CERN explained that CERN would soon extend its activities to four new countries, and that Slovenia could also be included in this group, subject to timely submission of a formal application. In a letter, President Türk therefore called upon the Slovenian Government to submit a final formal application for membership as soon as possible. Otherwise, the process of integration might be delayed for a longer period of time.

In his letter to the Government, Dr Türk wrote that the return on investment in science developed in CERN multiplies both through direct contracts for scientific research and through the transfer of new technologies to the corporate sector of the member states. This brings about higher efficiency and new jobs. Knowledge thus acquired has already been applied in other areas in member states, for example, in the development of new methods of treatment and diagnosis of cancer and other severe diseases, producing excellent results in practical application.

The above-mentioned advantages of membership have been confirmed by the experiences of countries participating in CERN projects for a number of years, as well as those countries that have joined the institution recently. According to President Türk, Slovenia's membership of CERN is, in spite of the substantial financial input involved, highly important and necessary as a measure for current resolution and future prevention of economic crisis. Within Slovenia, recognised institutions and eminent individuals have frequently emphasised the significance of scientific development in ensuring a better life for all citizens. And now, according to Dr Türk, Slovenia has the opportunity to do something really significant to achieve this objective.