Italy has revised some restrictions on Italian soldiers in Afghanistan, allowing them more easily to be deployed temporarily in volatile areas, defense officials said Tuesday.

Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa said during a visit to troops in Afghanistan that he had signed off on the revision. Gen. Vincenzo Camporini, the chief of staff, said the changes “are effective.”

The Defense Ministry confirmed both comments.

Italy’s 2,300 soldiers are based in relatively safe regions such as Kabul and western Afghanistan. Along with other European nations, Italy has been criticized for not sending troops to the front lines.

The government of Premier Silvio Berlusconi had long said that it was willing to ease the restrictions, known as caveats. Berlusconi had discussed the issue in separate meetings in Rome with U.S. President George W. Bush and NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer over the past weeks.

The revision speeds up procedures for the government to respond to NATO requests to move the soldiers to dangerous areas. It must now make a decision within six hours, compared with the previous 72 hours.

However, the government has said it does not plan to reposition its troops permanently.