U.S. sanctions could hit pipeline building in Danish waters: Bild

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany believes a new U.S. law imposing sanctions on companies building Russia's contested seabed Nord Stream 2 pipeline could affect ongoing construction works off the coast of Denmark, Bild newspaper said, citing a government document.

According to an Economics Ministry document cited by Bild, Germany expected President Donald Trump to sign the bill into law by Friday at the latest, meaning the Dutch-Swiss company Allseas, currently laying the pipeline off the Danish island of Bornholm, could be hit.

But the document did not rule out that the pipeline could be completed within the 30-day "cool-down" period envisaged by the bill.

The United States opposes the pipeline, which will allow Russia to bypass intermediaries Poland and Ukraine to deliver gas straight to Germany, saying it will heighten Europe's dependency on the strategic rival to its east.

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt, editing by Emma Thomasson)