On Monday, January 11, 2026, CERN welcomed Elisabeth Degryse, Minister-President of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, responsible for Budget, Higher Education, Culture, International Relations, and Intra-Francophone Relations, as well as Adrien Dolimont, Minister-President of Wallonia, overseeing Budget, Finance, Research, and Animal Welfare.

This visit was part of a tour of local institutions, attended by representatives from Belgian Francophone university rectorates and Belgian industry leaders.

The agenda included a tour of the CMS experiment, featuring the technical galleries for the future High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). Minister-President Degryse also met with members of CERN’s Belgian community to discuss ongoing scientific challenges and collaborations.