EU nuclear stress test results finalized this week

A European Union-wide safety review of nuclear reactors is expected to be finalized later this week, and will include recommendations on additional safety measures required at some power plants.

The safety "stress tests" were ordered following last year's Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, and are designed to assess whether the EU's 147 reactors could withstand similar natural or man-made disasters.

"Indeed we are finalizing our recommendations," EU energy spokeswoman Marlene Holzner told a regular news briefing on Monday.

"The recommendations we will give will not be very, very detailed. They will look at the very important safety features that must be in place to make sure that our nuclear power plants are safe," she said.

The EU's 27 European Commissioners will meet to try to finalize the safety report on October 3, and their recommendations will be formally presented to EU leaders at a summit in Brussels later this month.

The European Commission does not have the power to force member states to apply its recommendations, but depending on the results of the process the EU's executive has said it could propose binding new regulations on nuclear safety by the end of the year.

(Reporting by Charlie Dunmore)