New Belgian government ditches nuclear power exit plan

New Prime Minister Bart De Wever informed lawmakers in his inaugural policy address to parliament that he intended to "put an end to an outdated law" -- a decision agreed as part of the country's new coalition deal.

Under a 2003 law, Belgium had set a calendar for taking the country's nuclear reactors out of service by the end of 2025 and banned generating atomic power thereafter, Energy Minister Mathieu Bihet said on LN24 television.

But the energy crisis sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine had already prompted the outgoing government to agree a 10-year extension with operator Engie concerning two reactors, with a total capacity of two gigawatts.

The incoming government now wants nuclear to generate a total of four gigawatts -- the capacity of four plants.

"We know that nuclear energy is a source of abundant and low-carbon energy," Bihet said. "We want homes and businesses to stop using carbon-intensive energies like gas and heating oil."

The argument echoes that of the European Commission, which is pushing for the bloc to expand clean power sources including once-taboo nuclear in its push to become carbon neutral by 2050.

Agreed after seven-months of difficult negotiations, Belgium's new coalition government took office on Monday, marking a shift to the right for the country.

Led by De Wever's conservative N-VA, it includes two other parties from Dutch-speaking Flanders, the centrist Christian-Democrats and the leftist Vooruit (Onward), and two from French-speaking Wallonia, the centrist Les Engages and the centre-right Reformist Movement.

The N-VA and Reformists had made clear during last year's campaign that they planned to reverse the longstanding anti-nuclear policy.

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