France and Italy signed a number of agreements Friday in Paris that could make French companies essential to the development of nuclear energy by its southern neighbour, according to dpa. Speaking at a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the agreements covered "every domain of nuclear energy," including the training of Italian engineers. In September 2008, Berlusconi ended Italy's 20-year-old ban on the construction of nuclear power plants stemming from a 1987 referendum after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Italy is a net energy importer and acquires a substantial share of its electricity from France. Berlusconi's government has said the country aims to begin constructing nuclear power stations by 2013, and wants to produce a quarter of its electricity from nuclear energy by 2030. French nuclear technology supplier Areva said Friday it had signed three agreements with Italian partners. One contract allows Areva and Ansaldo to collaborate on the construction of four new-generation EPR reactors being built by Italian ENEL and French power giant EDF. Sarkozy and Berlusconi met during a Franco-Italian summit in Paris. The Italian prime minister said that a total of 20 bilateral agreements had been signed "that will bring our countries closer together."
