Nuclear power in Europe

France and Algeria have signed an agreement on civil nuclear co-operation during a visit to Algiers by the French Prime Minister, Francois Fillon.

Mr Fillon described the agreement as a sign of a "transformation" in the countries' ties.

Relations were very bad for years after the Algerian war of independence forced France to abandon its treasured colony.

After a meeting in Paris, Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner have said that there has to be a debate on nuclear energy now that fuel prices are rising. The two ministers believe the European Union should be less dependent on oil and gas imports and more thought should be put into new energy sources including nuclear power.

France’s nuclear safety watchdog has ordered EDF to halt work temporarily at its flagship new generation nuclear power station after finding that the French electricity giant had failed to address deficiencies in quality controls.

The Nuclear Safety Authority, charged with inspecting France’s 59 reactors, said on Tuesday that it had detected anomalies in the reinforcement of concrete for the 1,600MW EPR reactor being built at Flamanville in northern France.

PARIS, May 7 (Reuters) - The French cabinet passed a decree on Wednesday allowing the country's Atomic Energy Commission to promote French nuclear expertise and safety standards globally.

The Commission's new international division will help other countries build nuclear power stations safely and without harming the environment, while ensuring the technology is not used for weapons, the government said in a statement.