Austria to Pull Out of European CERN Institute

Austria is pulling out of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), Science Minister Johannes Hahn announced Thursday, citing budget concerns. The 20-million-euro (26.9-million-dollar) yearly membership in CERN — which is responsible for Europe’s Big Bang atom-smasher — makes up 70 percent of the money available in Austria for participation in international institutes and could be better used to fund other European projects, he said