Belgium’s energy minister has welcomed an “historic” committee vote which opens the door to new nuclear capacity and is a “decisive step towards a modernised and diversified energy policy”.

Mathieu Bihet made his comments after parliament’s energy committee approved an amendment of a January 2003 law on the country’s nuclear phaseout.

The nuclear phaseout law imposed a closure date on Belgium’s nuclear power plants, while also prohibiting the construction of new ones. The amendment passed by the energy committee reverses those two provisions, Bihet said.