Belgium plans to extend the life of one of its oldest nuclear reactors by a decade to avoid the danger of blackouts while atomic power is phased out, but decided to stick to a 2025 target date to exit nuclear power.

The decisions highlight the dilemma that European countries seeking to stop using a highly controversial energy source are facing--following political priorities that often require a tight calendar while guaranteeing power supplies, something that implies decades-long actions.

At a meeting Wednesday, the government decided to start phasing out nuclear plants in 2015, in line with a 2003 law. By 2025, all seven reactors--which are divided in two plants--will be shut, a spokeswoman said. However, it also agreed a 10-year extension of the lifespan of one of the country's oldest reactors, she said.

Last year's atomic scare in Japan has brought public opinion concerns about the dangers of using nuclear power to new highs, prompting several European nations to reconsider their plans. Germany took its neighbors by surprise by announcing an about-turn in policy and deciding to shut all its nuclear plants by 2022. The new French government has said it plans to cut its reliance on nuclear energy to 50% from the current 75% by 2025.

Belgium 's state secretary for energy Melchior Wathelet, who Wednesday presented the plan to his colleagues after months of work, had proposed to start the shut down in 2016, but ministers decided to stick to a 2003 law mandating a nuclear phase-out starting in 2015.

The decade-long life extension of one reactor is expected to cost roughly 500 million euros ($629 million), a person familiar with the discussion said.

After years of equivocation from authorities, the decision offers the first concrete sign of how Belgium will likely deal with nuclear power.

Mr. Wathelet had to also strike a difficult political compromise among the different parties that support the government--a coalition among socialists, centrists and conservatives from the country's two, quarrelsome linguistic communities.

Mr. Wathelet's plan "is a compromise, there is a little bit for everybody in it," said Wim Vandenberghe, a lawyer and energy expert at law firm Dechert LLP in Brussels . "It remains to be seen how it will be translated into law."

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