Austria's announcement on Monday that it would challenge state aid for a new nuclear plant in Britain marks the latest step in the country's solo campaign to roll back atomic energy in Europe.

Since the late 1970s, Austria has been fiercely anti-nuclear, starting with an unprecedented vote by its population that prevented the country's only plant from providing a watt of power.

With the exception of Italy, Austria is surrounded by countries with nuclear power, although Germany, to the north, has vowed to phase out its plants by 2022.

"It's an energy source from the last century," Environment Minister Andrä Rupprechter told AFP in a recent interview.

"It is outdated because it's a non-sustainable, high-risk source that is only competitive with an unjustified subsidy," he added, referring to the Hinkley Point C contract in western England.

Austria filed its complaint at the European Court of Justice after Britain proposed £17 billion (€24 billion, $26.5 billion) in state funds to help build two reactors, projected to cost £24.5 billion.

bbabo.Net