11 



During the month of August^ some European experts went to Brookhaven in 

 order to study in detail the Cosmotron (with a maximum euergj- of about ZGeV) 

 that was verj- close to completion. During their two-week visit, and in some way in 

 connection with the discussions going on in relation to the European project, the 

 American scientists Courant, Livingston, and Snyder came out with the "strong- 

 focusing principle". 



This important discover)' came soon enough to allow a change of the plans of 

 the provisional organization: the group embarked on the study of a strong-focusing 

 accelerator of 20 — SOGeV instead of the weak-focusing 10Ge\' machine considered 

 until then. A much smaller synchrocyclotron of O.CGeV was to be constructed in 

 parallel. 



During the summer of 1952 four sites were offered for the construction of the 

 new laboratory-: one near Copenhagen, one near Paris, one in Aiuhem in the Nether- 

 lauds and one in Geneva. After long and lively discussions the site in Meyrin near 

 Geneva was unanimously selected. 



All the European members of UNESCO had been invited to the Conferences 

 in Paris and in Geneva 1951 and 1952 but no response came from the countries of 

 Eastern Europe. A Convention establishing the permanent organization was signed 

 on July 1st, 1953 by twelve countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, 

 Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia. At the beginning, the 

 United Kingdom was rather cautious in committing itself to take part in the new 

 organization. The U.K. government preferred to remain in the formal position of 

 an observer during the first two stages, while, by signing the Convention, it became 



