BRUSSELS - European Union ministers agreed on Tuesday to a pan-European plan for disposing of radioactive waste from the EU's 143 nuclear reactors.

The new rules force national nuclear authorities to draw up disposal plans by 2015, which will be vetted by the EU's energy commissioner, Guenther Oettinger.

The 14 European Union member states using nuclear power currently store their radioactive waste in bunkers or warehouses for decades while it cools down.