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Notes -
And Germany did have the final say. Their say was 'no,' despite much internal twisting, in part because many Germans recognize that Germany has far more interests, economic and political, than a Russian pipeline that was going to be vulnerable to sabotage in the midst of a war where the Russians are trying to use energy supplies as a weapon to break European solidarity and the alliance.
Which 'we' here? Many would argue the Germans are not fighting the war, and that the German government has been trying to get out of even supporting the war beyond bare minimum expectations of its public and diplomatic partners. (IE, the helmet fiasco.)
That is certainly a sovereign state's right, but sovereign states can also be pressued by the opinion of other sovereign states. Sovereignty is not an opinion-free zone, and if you care about other people's opinion for your own sovereign interests- such as not being alone and losing influence within your own economic block- it is your sovereign right to weigh those opinions and pressures accordingly.
Quite convenient for the German government, in its own way, as now they don't have to treat the prospect of a Nord Stream 2 start as a serious option at international political cost, and can avoid the domestic political cost of rejecting it.
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