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The Vitoria-Gasteiz cabinet "accepts" the decision taken by the central government to close the&' || 'nbsp;Santa Maria de Garoña (Burgos) nuclear power plant toward the year 2013.

Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Miguel Sebastián, officially informed about the government''s decision to close the Burgos plant in four years.

Sources from the Department of Industry of the Basque government indicated that the autonomous cabinet “accepts the decision of the central government, given that it has the competence in this field.” There were no comments on the year of closure.

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Nuclenor, the owner of the plant, rejected the decision as the firm had asked for a renovation of the operating permit for 10 years more. Representatives do not rule out "any legal action" to assure the defence of the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise.

The workers union announced that demonstrations will continue to try to keep Garoña open for ten years.

On the other hand, the head of the Nuclear Campaign of Greenpeace, Carlos Bravo, found that the decision was “absurd” and that the ecologist organization will appeal against it in the General Courts.

Greenpeace has also signed and agreement with the major environmental organizations (Friends of the Earth, Ecologists in Action, SEO / BirdLife and WWF). They all insist on the immediate closure of the nuclear power and warned that "if it remains open, the Government would be reneging on their election program."

After the decision was announced, Ecologists in Action also accused the Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of not fulfilling his commitments.