This summer parliament gave its definitive backing to plans for Italy to resume nuclear power production 22 years after it was abolished following a referendum.

Under the terms of the so-called economic development law the government has until mid-February 2010 to draw up the legal framework for identifying appropriate sites for the construction of new nuclear power stations and storing and disposing of nuclear waste, as well as for compensating the affected population. The aim is to have 25 per cent of electricity in Italy supplied by nuclear power by 2030