Lawmakers in Wisconsin have introduced legislation that would end the US state's 32-year-old effective ban on the construction of new nuclear plants. Bills introduced to both of the state's legislative houses seek to change the approval process for new nuclear power plants by repealing current legislation and specifically including nuclear in a list of generating options.

The European Union should maintain at least the current capacity of nuclear generation up to and beyond 2050, entailing the commissioning of more than 100 nuclear power reactors over the next 35 years, Foratom said 2 October. This target would deliver 122 GWe of nuclear capacity between 2025 and 2045.

Sweden can continue to tax nuclear power production following a ruling in the government's favour by Europe's highest court. The European Court of Justice's seventh chamber decided that the tax does not fall within the scope of two European Council Directives and is therefore a national, rather than European Commission, matter.

Switzerland's Council of States has agreed to avoid putting legal limits on the operating lives of the country's nuclear power reactors. It has also rejected a proposal that was supported by the Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI), of requiring operators to submit a long-term operating concept every 10 years once a reactor reaches 40 years of service.

China and the UK will work together to co-fund a £50 million ($78 million) nuclear research centre, to be headquartered in the UK. Chinese vice premier Ma Kai and British chancellor George Osborne announced the plan on 21 September during the 7th UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue summit in Beijing.

Spain's nuclear industry has a positive impact on the country's economy, according to a report compiled on behalf of Spanish industry group Foro Nuclear.

The UK government has today announced up to £2 billion ($3 billion) in support for the planned Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, the first such plant in Britain for 20 years. The guarantee paves the way for Chinese investment in the UK's nuclear industry.

Rosatom will soon present the Russian government with its report for the federal target program (FTP) for nuclear and radiation safety for 2016-2025, director general Sergey Kirienko told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev during a meeting on 18 September at Government House. The corporation has completed 108% of the FTP for 2008-2015, and despite a cut in state funding of RUB8.4 billion ($127 million), Kirienko said.

Industry leaders last week debated how to bridge the gap between the World Nuclear Association's vision of an extra 1000 GWe of new nuclear power capacity by 2050, and the practicalities of working within current political, regulatory and financial environments.

Belgium's Constitutional Court has rejected Electrabel's appeal against the legality of the nuclear tax contribution imposed by the government for 2013. The company maintains that the level of tax does not reflect deteriorating market conditions in which it operates.

The nuclear power industry has a unique role to play in tackling two "existential threats" facing all humanity - climate change and nuclear war, Daniel Poneman, president and CEO of Centrus Energy Corp told delegates at the World Nuclear Association's Annual Symposium in London last week. From 2009 to 2014, Poneman was US deputy secretary of energy and also served as the COO of the US Department of Energy.

Hungary has received confirmation from the European Commission that its Paks II nuclear power plant project meets the objectives of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) Treaty, a government official told World Nuclear News on 11 September. Speaking at the side of the World Nuclear Association's Annual Symposium in London, Attila Aszódi said the formal confirmation had been received on 7 September.