**European Union sanctions packages adopted in 2025 and 2026 explicitly prohibit transactions, maintenance, and operations involving the Nord Stream pipelines, aligning with the bloc’s broader phase-out of Russian pipeline gas imports by late 2027.** Germany’s government has repeatedly stated it will block reactivation, reflecting a strategic shift to diversified LNG and Norwegian supplies that has reduced reliance on Russian volumes. Physical damage from the 2022 explosions leaves most lines inoperable without major repairs, while Russia has signaled plans to mothball the infrastructure absent improved relations. Although the far-right AfD has held talks with Russian officials about potential resumption contingent on a Ukraine peace framework, the party remains outside government and faces unified opposition from mainstream parties. Legal challenges by the pipeline operator against the EU ban and isolated court rulings on the operator’s solvency have not altered the binding restrictions or political consensus. These factors underpin traders’ strong expectation that the pipelines will not resume flows before 2027.