EU nuclear watchdogs fail to agree safety tests

12/05/2011 - 13:28

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's nuclear safety watchdogs have made progress on agreeing "stress tests" for Europe's 143 reactors, but have deferred a decision on the rules until next week, the European Commission said Thursday.

The European Commission and ENSREG, a group of 27 national authorities for nuclear safety, will continue their discussion in Prague on May 19-20.

Regulators are deadlocked over whether the stress tests should include testing resilience against terrorist attacks.

"Content is more important than timing," EU energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in a statement. "The public expects credible stress tests covering a wide range of risks and safety issues. This is what we are working on."

(Reporting by Pete Harrison, editing by Rex Merrifield)