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European countries are confident that they will be able to build the
Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the European centre for particle physics
near Geneva, following a meeting of CERN’s member states last Friday.

Hermann Strub, head of the previously cautious German delegation, is
now ‘absolutely sure it will go ahead’. ‘There are still some details to
be discussed,’ he says, ‘but I don’t see any big problems.’

At the meeting, CERN’s members agreed a resolution promising to try
to approve the construction of the LHC in June. However, Spain, which owes
CERN 148 million Swiss francs ( £75 million) and is seeking a reduction
in its payments, abstained.

A Spanish refusal to support the LHC in June could delay approval: Spain
has made a deal on its payments a precondition for its support for the
LHC. However, Cayetano Lopez, the Spanish delegate to CERN, expects a deal
to be agreed before June.