It is clear from the text and the accompanying map of the agreement between Greece and Egypt that the Greek islands have been taken into account in the demarcation of maritime borders. The border on the Greek side is based exclusively on the coasts of the islands. This can be seen in the points from which the border was drawn along Crete and partly Rhodes. According to Greece`s long-standing position: because the islands form their own marine areas, because they are closely interconnected and form groups that represent a geographical unit, it follows that the islands can be taken as base points for the maritime border, it is a middle line between the Greek islands and the opposite continental coasts. Greece is simply postulating that some low-water elevations and other uninhabitable island features could be ignored in the demarcation process. In the Greek-Egyptian agreement, however, the border is not a strict middle line, which represents Greece`s base position, but an adjusted median. The resulting marine area allocated to each state is in a ratio of about 9:11 in favor of Egypt. The partial nature of the agreement between Greece and Egypt is consistent with regional state practice in the Eastern Mediterranean (see Zu`s analysis). The Cyprus-Egypt, Cyprus-Lebanon and Cyprus-Israel EEZ delimitation agreements all provide that the endpoints of the established borders may be reviewed and/or extended to potential points equidistant from the coasts of the respective States «in the light of future demarcation with other neighbouring States and in accordance with an agreement to be concluded by the neighbouring States concerned in this regard». «The agreement with Egypt is within the framework of international law,» Dendias said. Shortly after the conclusion of the Greek-Egyptian agreement, the Turkish foreign minister said the agreement «indeed supports the Turkish thesis that the islands have no continental shelf.» This view is hardly convincing to anyone even vaguely familiar with Article 121 of UNCLOS, which has customary law status (Nicaragua v. Colombia 2012, paragraph 139), and Turkey`s demarcation practice.
Turkey cannot and does not deny that the islands form the full range of marine areas. The «Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus» and Turkey (the only country that recognizes them) concluded an «agreement on the demarcation of the continental shelf» in 2011 (see Analysis of Ioannides). Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias hailed the Egypt-Greece deal as an «exemplary agreement.» However, neither minister disclosed the details of the deal. The deal is a response to a similar deal between Turkey and the Libyan government in Tripoli last year that exacerbated tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. The agreement between Turkey and Libya has been widely rejected by Egypt, Cyprus and Greece as a violation of their economic rights in the oil-rich sea. The European Union claims that this is a deliberate violation of the law that threatens stability in the region. 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. 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.
Last year, the two sides agreed on maritime borders in an agreement that Egypt and Greece called illegal and a violation of international law. Greece claims to have violated its continental shelf and in particular the one off the island of Crete. «This is the opposite of the illegal, empty and legally unfounded Memorandum of Understanding signed between Turkey and Tripoli. After the signing of this agreement, the non-existent Turkish-Libyan memorandum ended up where it belonged from the beginning: in the trash. Greece and Egypt began negotiations on their demarcation in 2005. There were two ways to delineate: a negotiated and amicably agreed boundary and, if negotiations failed, recourse to judgment or arbitration by third parties. The negotiations were lengthy and conducted in good faith, but the geographical characteristics of Greece and the presence of third countries such as Turkey in the demarcation zone presented legal and political difficulties. Egypt tried not to interfere in the Greek-Turkish conflict. According to Greek expert Syrigos, «Egypt`s position was simple: first agree on a border with Turkey, then tell us which of the two we will sign with.» Turkey proposed a maritime demarcation with Egypt in 2013. Syrigos argues that the best solution would have been to refer the matter to the ICJ. However, Greece and Egypt declared this on 16 January 2015 and 16 January respectively.
February 2017, in accordance with Article 298 of UNCLOS, they did not accept the procedures of Section 2 of Part XV (mandatory procedures with binding decisions) with regard to cross-border disputes. A joint submission to the ICJ had to be approved. In any case, legal proceedings last at least 4-5 years. In 2019, Turkey and Libya signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to delineate the EEZ and continental shelf between the two countries (here). 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. In response to the Maritime Agreement between Libya (GNA) 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. The agreement stipulates «a partial demarcation of the maritime borders between the two countries and that the remaining demarcation will be carried out through consultations.» [1] Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Greek Nikos Dendias signed the agreement in Cairo on 6 August 2020[2],[3] it was ratified by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on 10 October and by the Greek Parliament on 27 August. [4] On 2 September, the Treaty was submitted to the United Nations Secretariat. [5] CAIRO – Egypt and Greece on Thursday signed a maritime agreement that establishes the maritime border between the two countries and delineates an exclusive economic zone for oil and gas drilling rights. .