Italy is making its biggest energy policy move in over a decade, with lawmakers giving preliminary approval to legislation that would bring nuclear power back into the country’s energy mix after decades away from it.

The lower house of parliament backed the plan as part of a broader push tied to a €14 billion EU funding package aimed at helping Italy invest in renewables and push through structural reforms. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government says the flexibility, running through 2028, is conditional on Italy speeding up its shift away from fossil fuels.

Not everyone in the governing coalition agrees on how to get there, though. Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin firmly rejected a proposal from coalition partner Matteo Salvini to lean back on Russian gas imports. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, meanwhile, welcomed the EU’s funding decision as a win that gives Italy more room to respond to ongoing energy costs pressuring households and businesses.

The European Commission, for its part, praised Italy’s progress but flagged continuing concerns — namely high public debt and sluggish productivity growth.

If the nuclear legislation clears its remaining steps, it would mark a major reversal for a country that voted to abandon nuclear power entirely after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, and again after Fukushima in 2011.

For foreign residents and businesses in Italy, the policy matters most for one reason: energy costs. Household and industrial electricity prices have been a persistent pain point, and this reform is being sold as part of the fix.