Italian court approves nuclear referendum

Italian court approves nuclear referendum

2011-06-08 02:02:59 GMT+7 (ICT)

ROME, ITALY (BNO NEWS) -- The Italian Constitutional Court on Tuesday approved a referendum on the introduction of nuclear power to be held nationwide on June 12-13, the ANSA news agency reported.

The court unanimously approved the nuclear referendum which was endorsed last week by Italy's top appeals court, the Court of Cassation. Recent surveys showed that most of Italians are against nuclear power.

The move could be another blow to the troubled government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The revival of nuclear power, abandoned in 1987 following the Chernobyl disaster, was one of the key objectives of Berlusconi's policy platform as well as reducing Italy's reliance on foreign energy.

In March 22, Industry Minister Paolo Romani announced a one-year moratorium on reviving the country's nuclear program. The freeze came as the government was in the process of searching sites for constructing future nuclear power plants.

Berlusconi's government was planning the construction of four nuclear power plants after announcing in 2010 the plans to restart Italy's nuclear program. However, the nuclear crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi power plant provoked protests against such plans.

This situation has been witnessed in other European countries. In Germany, the cabinet approved the proposal to close all the country's nuclear power plants by 2022. Nuclear energy will be replaced with renewable sources of power.

The decision represented a significant change as last year, the German government led by chancellor Angela Merkel intended to extend the lifespan of the 17 nuclear plants.

However, after Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami, protesters and opposition parties urged the government to modify its nuclear ambitions. Days later, Merkel announced a three-month moratorium on the plans before deciding on the closure of all plants.

In Switzerland, the government decided not to replace the five existing nuclear power stations when they reach the end of their lifespan. In June, the Swiss Parliament will discuss the future government's nuclear policy.

In 1990 Swiss voters approved a ten-year moratorium for the construction of new nuclear power plants. Three years later, citizens rejected an extension or definite withdrawal from nuclear energy programs.

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