October 2, 2007 (LPAC)--The conservative party Alleanza Nazionale (AN) has introduced draft legislation to build nuclear energy plants in Italy, which will be discussed in the Parliament starting next week, according to the schedule in the House Committee on Productive Activities. The bill was signed by the party Chairman, former Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini, and by 40 AN members of parliament. Italy has no nuclear power stations as a result of decisions to close them down after a 1986 referendum.

The bill calls for incentives to local communities that accept a nuclear power station in their "back yard," in the form of permanent tax relief on real estate and waste disposal, two major taxes that citizens currently pay to their municipalities. The bill also calls for equal treatment of all Italian provinces: each one of them must accommodate an "inconvenient" plant, be it a nuclear plant, a waste disposal plant or a regassification plant.

Although AN is the first party to make such a move, there is a support for nuclear energy in most Italian parties, reflecting a shift in the popular sentiment. Two years ago, an opinion poll showed 54% of Italians supporting nuclear energy, and recently another poll published by the monthly Espansione, confirmed it.

Italian industrial firms pay 12.1 euros per 100 Kwh, while their competitors in nuclear-driven France pay 5.8. Italian families pay 15.48 (about $20), the highest in Europe. French families pay 10.8 euros.