Global General

EU agrees 'stress tests' for nuclear reactors

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-05-25 13:55

BRUSSELS - European nuclear watchdogs have agreed the details of new safety checks on the region's 143 reactors to guard against crises similar to that at Japan's stricken Fukushima plant, the European Commission said late on Tuesday.

European leaders agreed in March to subject European nuclear power plants to "stress tests", but experts at national nuclear authorities have been wrangling over the details ever since.

EU energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger wanted the tests to be as wide-ranging as possible, including the threat of terrorist attacks, but others such as the French regulator said such scenarios should be handled by national security agencies alone.

EU diplomats said a deal had been struck late on Tuesday, with anti-nuclear Austria the last country to give its approval, but no details of the compromise were immediately available.