The Italian cabinet Wednesday approved, as expected, a one-year moratorium for the country's nuclear comeback, and the government may decide to end the atomic program if it isn't satisfied with the European Union's stress tests on safety, ministers said.

Wednesday's cabinet meeting decided on the one-year moratorium for the procedures that would have allowed to determine where the nuclear sites could be built, Industry Minister Paolo Romani said in a statement.

"The government won't proceed with the realization [of a nuclear program] if the initiatives at European Union level don't provide full guarantees on safety," Romani said during parliamentary question time.

Italy's aim is to eventually achieve a balanced mix of energy sources that reduce its dependency on fossil fuels, said Romani.

In a separate note, Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo said: "The one-year nuclear moratorium is a decision based on common sense, of precaution, of respect for the concern of citizens in front of extraordinary events."

The government's decision to impose the moratorium is based on the need to gather the full facts on the nuclear accident in Japan in relation to the safety of existing plants and those with more modern technology, said Prestigiacomo.

Italy banned nuclear power in a 1987 referendum but the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced in 2008 it would allow its return.

In recent days Italian ministers had asked for a pause on the nuclear comeback following the accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi complex.

Government website: http://www.governo.it

-By Liam Moloney, Dow Jones Newswires; +39 06 6976 6924; liam.moloney@dowjones.com
A2A (BIT:A2A)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jan 2025 to Feb 2025 Click Here for more A2A Charts.
A2A (BIT:A2A)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Feb 2025 Click Here for more A2A Charts.