Tensions between Greece and Turkey over the exploration of energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean were already high. NATO members also disagree on a number of issues, from overflights in the Aegean Sea to the maritime areas of the eastern Mediterranean to ethnically divided Cyprus. Libya stated in a letter to the UN Security Council dated May 13, 2020 that its Memorandum of Understanding with Turkey “does not affect the rights of third parties.” However, the map attached to the Memorandum of Understanding clearly showed that the presence of Greek islands such as Crete, Rhodes and Kastellorizo and the associated marine areas had been ignored. In addition, Turkey and Libya announced plans for energy exploration in the areas specified in the Memorandum of Understanding. The mou urged Greece to quickly conclude an agreement with Egypt. CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt and Greece signed an agreement on Thursday designating an exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean between the two countries, an area containing promising oil and gas reserves, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the Egyptian-Greek deal “worthless” and vowed to maintain his controversial pact with the Tripoli government. Another Greek news portal, The Indicator, said Egypt was on the verge of reaching an agreement with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean ignoring Greek interests. The preamble to the agreement between Greece and Egypt recognizes the relevance and applicability of the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Law of the Sea. It refers in particular to the principles of good neighbourliness, cooperation and good faith. The preamble emphasizes that each party must exercise its sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which Greece and Egypt have acceded.
The Convention on the Law of the Sea provides that an international agreement between the States concerned is the main method of defining maritime boundaries, including the EEZ and the continental shelf (Articles 74(1) and 83(1)). The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea does not specify a method for determining the limit, but only that demarcation leads to a “just solution”. A delimitation treaty based on consent, freely negotiated and adopted is, by definition, consistent with international law as set out in articles 74, paragraph 1, and 83, paragraph 1, of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Second, the exact boundaries of the overlap of maritime claims with other states in the territories will be clarified. “There is now an international dispute that – theoretically – limits Turkey`s ability to act,” Syrigos said. The Greek-Turkish maritime border dispute had probably crystallized long before the Memorandum of Understanding between Turkey and Libya and the Agreement between Greece and Egypt. However, the nature, underlying principles, and exact geographic extent of these overlapping claims are now much clearer. This is important in defining the geographic scope of UNCLOS`s obligation “not to jeopardize or impede the achievement of the Final Agreement” and the associated international obligations (see Barrett, Burke and others in biICL`s 2016 report on States` obligations to marine unlimited areas). The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the exclusive zone designated in the agreement was on the territory of the Turkish continental shelf. Ankara considers the deal null and void, adding that the deal also violates Libya`s maritime rights.
Egypt and Greece are at odds with Turkey, which angered both countries last year by signing a maritime demarcation agreement with Libya`s internationally recognized government, escalating disputes over potential offshore gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean. The origins of the Greek-Egyptian demarcation agreement date back to the beginning of the search for energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean in the early 2000s. The exploration and eventual exploitation of offshore energy resource potential required the definition of the maritime boundaries of the coastal states: Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Syria and Turkey. It is important to note that the agreement between Greece and Egypt is geographically limited. It deals with only part of the total length of the potential maritime border between Greece and Egypt. The island of Kastellorizo (officially known as Meyisti or Meis in Turkish) and a small part east of the coast of Rhodes were not included, probably to avoid a confrontation with Turkey. This does not affect the future demarcation east of the specified boundary. Article 1(e) of the Agreement provides that any subsequent demarcation of the boundary provided for in the Agreement (east of the 28th meridian or south-west of Crete) shall be carried out “in consultation with the neighbouring States concerned”.
Thus, the two areas omitted in the agreement concern future agreements between the two parties with third countries (Libya, Cyprus and Turkey). This does not affect Greece`s position on the role and impact of the islands in the demarcation process or the interests of third countries. Cyprus and Egypt were the first to conclude a delimitation agreement on the demarcation of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in 2003 (here). The agreement is based on “a midline from which each point is equidistant from the nearest point to the reference level of both Parties” (Article 1). Cyprus then concluded two additional agreements based on median/equidistance lines: with Lebanon in 2007 (not yet in force here) and with Israel in 2010 (here). These three agreements are concise and each comprise five articles: Art. 1 specifies the exact location of the boundary of the midline; Article 2 deals with transboundary resources of the seabed; Article 3 regulates the process of future demarcation with third countries; Article 4 refers to the settlement of disputes; and article 5 deals with the ratification and entry into force of the Agreement. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the Egypt-Greece deal “worthless”[7], while the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a press release: “A maritime border between Greece and Egypt does not exist. As far as Turkey is concerned, the so-called maritime demarcation agreement signed today is null and void.
This understanding will be reflected on the ground and at the table. [8] The agreement between Greece and Egypt reflects previous delimitation agreements in the Eastern Mediterranean (e.B. between Cyprus and Egypt, Lebanon or Israel). According to its title, it is an agreement on the “demarcation of the exclusive economic zone”. The agreement does not refer to the continental shelf regime. This is probably because the parties understood that the EEZ included sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the continental shelf. Although they remain two separate areas, the EEZ and the continental shelf have similar substantial boundaries and rights within a radius of 200 nautical miles. For example, international jurisprudence and state practice indicate a trend towards a single dividing line for the EEZ and the continental shelf at less than 200 nm.
On 7 August 2020, Greece and Egypt signed an agreement to delimit the maritime borders of the two Eastern Mediterranean countries. The Greek foreign minister said it was a “historic day”: the two states had reached an “exemplary agreement” that “confirms and enshrines the effect and right of the islands to a continental shelf and an EEZ” in accordance with international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The Egyptian Foreign Minister said: “This agreement allows both countries to maximize the use of available resources in the exclusive economic zone, especially promising oil and gas reserves.” Relations between Turkey and Egypt deteriorated after General Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi overthrew the country`s first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, in a coup after just one year in power. In response to the Maritime Agreement (GNA) between Libya and Turkey, Egypt and Greece have signed a maritime treaty that creates an exclusive economic zone for oil and gas drilling rights in the Mediterranean. .