ATHENS

Greece on Wednesday disclosed its official Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) map.

“The act establishing the National Spatial Strategy for the Marine Space (NSSMS), which specifies and maps the country's Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), was issued today at the initiative of the Environment and Energy Ministry, in collaboration with the Foreign Ministry and the co-responsible ministries,” a Greek Foreign Ministry statement said.

“The approach followed in the preparation of the MSP has often combined conflicting social, economic, energy and environmental parameters, to serve a series of interrelated objectives, such as the climate resilience of the marine environment, sustainable tourism development, the protection of our cultural heritage and in particular underwater antiquities, the improvement and protection of maritime transport, the exploitation of the country's energy resources, fish farming and the strengthening of cross-border projects of common interest,” the statement said.

In the questions and answers section of the statement, the ministry underlined that the maritime areas shown on the map include the Greek-Italian EEZ delimitation agreements of 1977 and 2020 and the Greek-Egyptian agreement of 2020, while they coincide with the boundaries deriving from Greece’s Law 4001/2011 (on the operation of electricity and gas energy markets, for exploration, production and transmission networks of hydrocarbons.)

“The map depicting the Greek Maritime Spatial Planning does not constitute an EEZ delimitation,” it added.

On the timing of the disclosure of MSP, the ministry said: “The government is closing past issues. It is defending national interests in practice and in a substantive way.”

The ministry also argued that the extension of Greek territorial waters up to 12 nautical miles is an “inalienable right” of the country, deriving from the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“It is a right that Greece reserves for its exercise when and as it deems it in its national interest, based on the rules deriving from international Law,” it said.

The ministry also highlighted that resolving past issues does not preclude dialogue with Türkiye.

“The fact that we talk does not mean that we make concessions from our positions. Greece desires a positive climate in relations with Türkiye and has been in favor of Greek-Turkish understanding based on international law and good neighborliness from the beginning,” it said.

Responding to the Greek MSP, a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said: Greece's unilateral actions, claims on maritime spatial planning will have no legal consequences for Ankara.

“We reiterate that unilateral actions should be avoided in enclosed or semi-enclosed seas such as the Aegean and the Mediterranean, that international maritime law encourages cooperation between coastal states in these seas, including on environmental issues, and that in this context, our country is always ready to cooperate with Greece in the Aegean Sea,” the ministry said.

A Turkish parliamentary 1995 decision warns that if Greece increases its territorial waters in the Aegean Sea beyond 6 miles, the parliament will give "all powers,” including military powers, to the government to defend Türkiye's interests.