The Danish Energy Agency has granted Nord Stream 2 AG - the operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline - sealing the damaged pipeline ends of three of the four branches in the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 systems.
The move could mark the first step towards restoring the key energy link, which supplied up to 40% of Germany's gas consumption before the conflict broke out in Ukraine, according to an analysis by The Spectator.
The decision to grant a license to repair the Nord Stream gas pipeline was also made a few days after Alice Weidel, leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany ( AfidD), said that people could trust her in returning Nord Stream to normal operations. Weidel also pledged to dismantle Germany's wind turbines and restart the country's nuclear power plants.
However, the idea of resuming business relations with Russia after the ceasefire in Ukraine has raised concerns among some EU countries, especially those wary of Germany's strategic dependence on Russian gas.
After Weidel's speech, Polish President Andrzej Duda warned that countries like Germany "should not be tempted" to continue importing gas from Russia.
For German voters and some of the country's industrial sector, the loss of cheap Russian gas is a disaster.
The double energy shock from the Nord Stream explosion and the closure of Germany's nuclear power plants - fueled by the ruling coalition's Green Party partners - led to the country's worst standard of living collapse since World War II. The German recession is similar to the 2008 financial crisis.
A recent study from the New Economic Forum warned that Germany's failure to protect its industry from soaring energy prices could turn the 2020s into a "lost decade" and continue to boost support for the AfD.
Meanwhile, the European Union is facing an almost impossible task: Sentencing Russia economically while still ensuring enough gas for electricity supply.
Despite imposing a price cap on Russian oil, sanctions on the aviation industry and banks, and freezing Russian state assets, Brussels has not sanctioned the Nord Stream pipeline.
The Danish Energy Agency approved the repair of the gas pipeline because it is obliged to ensure the country's continental shelf infrastructure is still operational.
The Danish-licensed Nord Stream repair work includes the installation of specialized waterproof covers on two branches of the Nord Stream pipeline and one branch of the Nord Stream 2.
This activity will help discharge all the water from flooded gas pipelines and is likely to lift these pipelines from the seabed to the surface for repair. The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines are currently located at a depth of 90m.
According to Switzerland-based Nord Stream 2 AG manager Transliq AG, the initial cost of the repairs is estimated at 622 million euros.
