The European Commission assumes that the Nord Stream pipeline will not transport gas from Russia to the European Union on Thursday. Here’s what European Commissioner Johannes Hahn (Budget Affairs) says The Wall Street Journal. Currently, the planned maintenance of the pipeline is in progress, and therefore it is not in use.

The European Union, and Germany in particular, are eagerly awaiting the re-opening of the taps after the 10-day scheduled maintenance.

It is feared that the Russians are using the Nord Stream shutdown in response to international sanctions against Russia. This could lead to German gas shortages next winter.

Those concerns increased on Monday. Then the news agency reported Reuters Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom has warned some energy companies that it “cannot guarantee” gas supplies. Gazprom’s letter ended up on the carpet of German energy companies RWE and Uniper, among others.

That’s why Commissioner Hahn says the EU is not counting on restarting Gazprom when the planned maintenance period is over. “We are working on the assumption that the operation will not resume on Thursday,” Han said.