First yes to planning basis for Cern nuclear research center
Published: Wednesday, May 29th 2024, 17:50
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The Federal Council wants to lay the foundations so that infrastructure projects for the Cern nuclear research center in the Swiss-French border region can be planned more easily and quickly. The National Council was the first chamber to say yes to this.
On Wednesday, it approved amendments to the law on the promotion of research and innovation by 116 votes to 59, with eleven abstentions, as an exception for Cern. The sectoral plan could, for example, become the basis for the 100-kilometre-long Future Circular Collider (FCC) currently under discussion.
The SVP was against the bill. They feared a precedent would be set. Spokesperson Katja Riem (BE) warned against encroaching on cantonal spatial planning sovereignty. Even if Cern is important for research, there is no reason for this. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin (SVP), on the other hand, spoke of "pragmatic federalism."
The amendment to the law makes it possible to draw up a sectoral plan for Cern. This is intended to ensure that Cern's strategic projects are compatible with all interests. The Federal Council refers to the objectives of research policy, Switzerland's tasks as a host state and environmental and spatial planning requirements.
90 percent of Cern is located in France, the rest in the canton of Geneva. The sectoral plan procedure will be carried out in consultation with this canton. The powers of the Confederation and the Canton of Geneva are also to be regulated by the amendment to the law. The federal government is to be given powers that the canton currently has.
The Federal Council wrote in the dispatch that construction projects on the Cern plots could only be implemented after a procedure lasting around eight years, for which Geneva is responsible. These usual time limits for spatial planning could run counter to the rapid need for developments at Cern.
The bill goes to the Council of States.
©Keystone/SDA
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