The Italian Senate on Thursday approved a motion presented by the opposition on a controversial U.S. military base, giving it the green light to expand the base.

The motion, which was passed by a six-vote margin, approved the government's position on the Vicenza base, about 400 km north of Rome. Prime Minister Romano Prodi announced on Tuesday that Italy would not object to U.S. plans to expand the base.

The Pentagon plans to double the size of the base, home of the U.S. Southern European Task Force, to unite its 173rd Airborne Brigade. The rapid reaction unit is divided between Vicenza and bases at Bamburg and Schweinfurt, Germany.

The opposition motion contained one sentence addressing the need to allow the United States to expand the base, as outlined this week by Italian Defence Minister Arturo Parisi.

Parisi said on Tuesday that the government's green light to the base's expansion was "in line" with the country's foreign and defense policies.

The motion, however, did not voice much emphatic support for the expansion, reflecting the internal split of the governing coalition.

Three parties in the coalition -- Greens, the Communist Refoundation Party and the Italian Communist Party -- had voiced strong protests against the expansion.

Opponents argued that the bulked-up base could militarize the city and make it a target for terrorists.

Washington wants to expand its current 2,750 military personnel to 4,500 for the base. The expansion project involves building barracks at the city's Dal Molin airport to accommodate around 1,800 U.S. soldiers who are currently stationed in Germany.

Work on the enlargement is expected to begin by the end of 2007.

Meanwhile, a demonstration against the expansion of the base is due to be held in Vicenza on Feb. 17.

Local protesters worried that the expansion would result in new roads to handle military traffic linking the two parts, loss of green space and strains on public services like water and gas.

Source: Xinhua