UOKiK on Oct. 7 imposed a fine of more than Zloty 29 billion ($7.62 billion, Eur6.48 billion) on Russian gas giant Gazprom for building Nord Stream 2 without its approval, as well as a fine totaling Zloty 234 million on five European companies that helped finance the project.

The almost complete Nord Stream 2 was meant to come online at the end of 2019, but the threat of US sanctions against companies working on laying the pipeline saw main contractor Allseas halt work in December last year.

A little over 150 km of Nord Stream 2 remains to be laid in Danish and German waters, but with the political debate becoming ever more frenzied, it remains unclear how and when the pipeline will be completed.

UOKiK said its own investigation had shown that Gazprom, France's Engie, Austria's OMV, Shell, and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall Dea had concluded a number of agreements regarding financing for Nord Stream 2 without having first obtained its approval to establish a joint venture for the project.

The Danish Energy Agency granted the permit on Thursday almost a year after the application was submitted.

Nord Stream 2 would double the capacity of the gas corridor via the Baltic Sea to Germany to 110 Bcm/year and would reduce the need for Russia to use Ukraine as a transit country for gas supply to Europe.

Russia says Nord Stream 2 is a commercial project -- backed by five European energy companies -- and should not be used for political point-scoring.

"Nord Stream 2 for us is an economic project, a positive project, because we believe that it is good to have more diversification and to be able to use different routes for energy supply to Europe," Kurz said during a press conference in Vienna.

“The Baltic Sea pipeline is above all in the interests of Germany and western Europe as we want to achieve the energy transformation,”

Schwesig said she agreed that Russia had to explain the poisoning, but said the crime "should not be used to challenge Nord Stream 2."