Energy company Delta is still planning to build a second nuclear power plant near the small Dutch town of Borssele - formally at least.

However, Economic Affairs Minister Maxime Verhagen has - for the time being - frozen all activities connected with the application for permits.

Borssele is the site of the only operational nuclear power plant in the Netherlands. Delta recently announced it was shelving its construction plans due to overcapacity in the electricity market.

The minister has announced he will be having talks with Delta and the German company RWE, which has also put its nuclear plans on the back burner, to discuss where they want to go from here. RWE owns the Dutch energy provider Essent.

Mr Verhagen told parliament he is still looking to develop an increasingly sustainable mix of energy sources, as desired by the cabinet, in which nuclear power may play a role.