Milan:
Italy today proposed halting current plans for developing nuclear power with the government saying it wanted to develop "a new national energy strategy" in the wake of the crisis in Japan.
The proposal still has to be voted on by parliament and comes amid widespread public opposition to a return to nuclear power which was abandoned in Italy by a referendum in 1987 after the Chernobyl disaster.
"Until we have more scientific evidence, plans concerning the localisation, construction and use of nuclear power stations will not go ahead," the government said in an amendment to a one-year moratorium declared in March.
Italy declared a temporary moratorium on its nuclear plans following the catastrophe in Japan, though Italians are still set to vote in a June referendum on whether to continue constructing atomic power stations.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said last week that he was considering extending the moratorium to two years, because "one year will not be long enough to reassure Italians" that the nuclear option is safe.
While analysts mulled whether the new amendment could see Italy turn away from nuclear for good, critics accused the government of plotting to wriggle out of the referendum and return to atomic energy once the moratorium expires.
"It's the umpteenth government hoax," said Antonio Di Pietro, head of the opposition Italy of Values party.
"This amendment only says that the selection of sites has been postponed. Let's not play clever dicks. It's clear the executive has realised the referendum is lost," he said.
Greenpeace Italy director Giuseppe Onufrio said the amendment was an "unacceptable trick to try to gain time... to avoid letting Italians express themselves in a referendum and to then bring nuclear up again in a year."
Italy's parliament in 2008 adopted a bill that opened the way to construction of atomic power stations from 2014 to cut the price of electricity bills and make Italy less dependent on energy imports.