The Italian government is fully backing a return to nuclear power and if work starts in 2024 the first switch on a new reactor could be turned on in 2032, Matteo Salvini, deputy prime minister and minister of infrastructure and transport, told a conference.

Press reports in Italy quoted Salvini as saying he would be happy to see a next-generation reactor in his native city, Milan. He was reported as calling for a new consultation on next-generation nuclear.

Enterprise minister Adolfo Urso told the conference Italy is more aware than others of its own and Europe’s energy needs, and sees nuclear power as making a significant contribution because the government fully supports it.

Urso said Italy needs energy autonomy and diversification against the backdrop of the Hamas-Israel conflict, which has already compounded the long-running energy crisis by impacting oil and gas prices.