Greece and Italy Reach Agreement on Maritime Boundary Delimitation After Years-Long Talks

Europe

According to Athens, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio will give a press conference on the agreement later on Tuesday.

Greece and Italy have reached a historic agreement on the delimitation of maritime zones in the Ionian Sea.

The signing of the agreement on the boundaries of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is scheduled for Tuesday noon, during the meeting of two foreign ministers, Nikos Dendias and his Italian counterpart Luigi di Maio in the building of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will be followed by a press conference.
This development comes following years-long negotiations between Athens and Rome, after concerns largely over fishing rights in the Ionian Sea, earlier expressed by Rome, were addressed and resolved.
The agreement is effectively an extension of a previous maritime borders deal clinched by Italy and Greece in 1977. It is also expected to pave the way for a similar accord with Albania.

As per the concept of EEZ, adopted in 1982 at the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, a sovereign state exercises special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including alternative ways of energy production, from water and wind.

The area of ​​the EEZ stretches beyond the territorial waters and up to 200 nautical miles from the coastline, while the jurisdiction of the coastal state concerns the seabed and the waters below the sea surface, with the latter formally being under international jurisdiction. Regarding territorial waters and the continental shelf, if the EEZs of two countries overlap and interact, it is up to the neighbouring states to jointly determine the maritime borders.