The European Court of Justice has ruled that Belgium broke EU law by not carrying out the necessary environmental audits before prolonging the lifetime of two nuclear reactors (433 MW each) at the Doel power plant (Doel 1 and 2) near Antwerp. The court, however, ruled that the nuclear power plants could stay open provisionally to avoid an interruption on the power supply.
A 2003 law limited the operating lives of Belgian nuclear reactors to 40 years, mandating nuclear power plant operators to shut down the last reactor by 1 December 2025. However, a July 2015 amendment was adopted to enable Doel 1 and 2 to operate for another 10 years until 15 February 2025 and 1 December 2025, respectively, provided that regulatory approval was granted. In October 2015, the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) approved Electrabel's modernisation plans for the two reactors. In March 2018, the Belgian government reaffirmed its commitment to phase out nuclear power by 2025.
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