Merz wants the ban as part of the upcoming sanctions package against Russia for the Putin regime's war against neighboring Ukraine.
In March, the same newspaper reported on discussions between American and Russian businessmen about the possibility of restoring the sabotaged gas pipelines.
According to Financial Times sources, Merz now wants to eliminate a divisive domestic political debate on the issue with an EU ban, but also prevent a development where the pipeline could become a tool for American and Russian pressure on Germany.
Three of Nord Stream's four gas pipelines were destroyed in an attack in 2022 and although the pipelines are owned by a privately-owned company based in Switzerland, permission from the German government is required to reactivate them again.
