Germany to potentially pull the plug on Nord Stream 2

Germany may axe plans to allow the Russian pipeline Nord Stream 2 direct access to the Baltic Sea through their country thanks to a single short sentence in a German local newspaper.

The quote made by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas questions whether or not the Russians would force them to change their position on the pipeline, following rows over the poisoning of prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

In the article, Mr Maas was quoted as saying; "I hope the Russians don't force us to change our position on Nord Stream 2."

Despite the promise of affordable energy for people across Europe as they begin phasing out nuclear and coal, German officials worry that they may become too dependent on an unreliable partner for their energy needs.

The Foreign Minister called on investigations into the attack on Mr Navalny, implying that not doing so could spell doom for the pipeline.

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has also implied her suspicion on the incident.

Shortly before German doctors announced Navalny was coming round from his coma, Merkel announced she was reconsidering her support of the pipeline.

Her spokesman said: "The German chancellor agrees with the foreign minister's comments from the weekend."

Before the incident, the government's official stance was the pipeline should be kept separate from the poisoning of a powerful opposition leader in Russia.

These latest comments appear to have hardened many people's attitudes towards the pipeline. The event has been described as "damaging as an earthquake."

Russia's first pipeline, Nord Stream 1, was completed in 2011. Its predecessor is almost finished and is due to go online some time in 2021, with a little over 100km of pipeline still to be placed.

Mrs Merkel's government is facing backlash from several European partners.

However, one vocal opponent is the US, who have threatened sanctions against European companies involved in the pipeline.

German politicians from across the spectrum are backing the scrapping of the pipeline, given that the project is nearing completion and  €8 billion has been pumped into it, a complete reversal seems unlikely.

Supporters of the pipeline say that scrapping the pipeline could damage the perception of Europe as politically unstable. Many Germans also worry about where the country may acquire an alternate source of renewable energy on this scale.

US President Donald Trump's crusade against the pipeline also appears to have unintentionally bolstered its support due to prevailing attitudes towards him in Germany.

Many voters suspect he wants to scrap the pipeline in order to sell American fuel to the Germans, and Mrs Merkel is hesitant to seem like she is giving in to pressure from the US.

If Germany were responsible for the axing of Nord Stream 2, Berlin could be liable for some serious damages.

Perhaps the cheapest way to kill the bill is for Merkel to quietly revoke her support for the project.

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