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Chamber Approves Law Letting Government Set Rules to Consider Small Nuclear Reactors

It signals the government's push to enable assessment of small modular and advanced reactors as tools for energy security.

Overview

  • The Chamber of Deputies, which approved the law-delega in first reading on Thursday, June 4, 2026, passed the text by 155 votes to 86 and sent it to the Senate for final approval.
  • The law gives the government 12 months to write implementing decrees that will define licensing, safety oversight, waste management and fuel rules needed to evaluate new-generation reactors.
  • The text explicitly targets small modular reactors (SMR) and advanced modular reactors (AMR), requires decommissioning of legacy plants, and proposes a reorganized national authority to oversee nuclear safety.
  • The bill sets site-selection rules that let municipalities self-nominate, offers initial funding of €60 million for 2027–2029 for planning and information, and includes compensation measures for host territories.
  • Officials project first operational new-generation plants possibly in the mid-2030s but stress large uncertainties over international technology maturity, ISIN licensing, supply chains, legal challenges and local consent.