In early September 2005, a Member State of the European Union, Germany, signed a bilateral agreement with Russia concerning the construction of a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea. The pipeline is to run alongside four EU Member States bordering on the Baltic Sea (Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) and is detrimental to the energy and environmental interests of these states.
Does the Council think that an EU Member State (Germany) should be able unilaterally to conclude an agreement with a third country (Russia) concerning the construction of a gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, when its implementation will affect and directly harm the very important interests of other EU Member States?