Russia’s state energy giant Gazprom says it is nearing completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, set to stretch 765 miles under the Baltic from a port north of St. Petersburg, Russia, directly to Germany.

But as the pipeline’s steel and concrete construction gets closer to Danish waters near easterly Bornholm Island, Denmark has stalled the pipeline’s completion by refusing to grant the project construction permits in its territorial waters. By doing so, Denmark has created another crack in the rift between those European Union and NATO members already divided by the pipeline’s association with Russia, according to LA Times.

The United States, which critics point out wants to sell energy to Western Europe itself, and many of its allies in Europe and NATO, namely Poland, the Baltic States, Ukraine and others, oppose the pipeline, saying the $11-billion project would increase Moscow’s ability to use gas supplies as a diplomatic weapon.

Eastern European leaders in particular fear it will increase Moscow’s influence in the region.

But Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, remains firm as Nord Stream 2’s strongest proponent, saying the pipeline will ensure the continent’s energy security. Project officials say more than two-thirds of the pipeline is already completed, with permission secured to construct through the maritime territories of Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Germany. Only Denmark stands in its way.

Denmark, like many of its European allies opposed to Nord Stream 2, sees the Russian gas pipeline as a risk because it would allow an aggressive Moscow to use gas supplies as a diplomatic weapon. Denmark’s Energy Agency will finish its review of the pipeline’s third permit application on July 17. A final decision deadline has not been set, agency spokesman Ture Falbe-Hansen told Danish news agencies on June 20.