Greece may announce its exclusive economic zone in Aegean, says director general of think-tank organization

Πηγή: Anadolu Agency
Oct 5 2012

Thanos Dokos, director general of a leading Greek think tank organization ELIAMEP, said on Friday that "Greece may announce its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Aegean due to domestic pressure.

Speaking to the Anadolu Agency (AA), Dokos stressed that the declaration of an EEZ would be the beginning of a long process.

If Greece does announce its EEZ, then I would hope that this would not lead to any tension with Turkey (in the Aegean), Dokos underlined.

The issue of EEZ has been the most debated one in Greece in the past few years.

Greek circles who want Greece to make use of natural energy sources in the Aegean in order to overcome the major economic crisis and want the announcement of an EEZ place heavy pressure on the government of Prime Minister Antonios Samaras.

One of the promises Samaras had made during his recent election campaign was the announcement of the EEZ.

Just recently, Greek Foreign Minister Dimitrios Avramopoulos stated that they sent clear messages to Turkey on the EEZ and were making both political and legal preparations on the issue.

Experts argue that it would be beneficial for Turkey and Greece to discuss the issue of the EEZ so as to facilitate the exploration of natural gas and oil in the Aegean Sea.

Experts also argue that the determination of an EEZ would require a long diplomatic process.

"The ordinary person in the street has to understand that, even if you declare an EEZ today, it does not imply that you can begin drilling for energy sources tomorrow. There is long legal process according to international laws. If a neighboring country does not recognize your EEZ, then bilateral talks and negotiations begin. If disagreement continues between two parties, they can take the issue to the International Court of Justice in the Hague. This process may take months or perhaps years," Dokos stated.

"Turkey and Greece will be successful in solving the problems in the Aegean," Dokos indicated.
"I am optimistic. There are problems in the Aegean for the past 50 years. There have been important crisis but since 2002 the diplomats of Turkey and Greece regularly hold consultation meetings. At least, we can now talk with each other. Only a few meetings were reflected in the media. There has been crucial progress in relations with Turkey. As soon as Greece overcomes its economic problems, it would begin focusing on foreign policy issues. The two sides in the Aegean will decide if they would take issues on which they do not mutually agree to the International Court of Justice in the Hague. Will we see a satisfactory result? We will see," Dokos also said.

-What is an EEZ?-

Generally, a state's EEZ extends to a distance of 200 nautical miles (370 km) out from its coastal baseline. The exception to this rule occurs when EEZs would overlap; that is, state coastal baselines are less than 400 nautical miles (740 km) apart. When an overlap occurs, it is up to the states to delineate the actual maritime boundary. Generally, any point within an overlapping area defaults to the nearest state.

A state's exclusive economic zone starts at the seaward edge of its territorial sea and extends outward to a distance of 200 nautical miles (370.4 km) from the baseline.

The EEZ stretches much further into sea than the territorial waters, which end at 12 NM (22 km) from the coastal baseline (if following the rules set out in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea).

Thus, the EEZ includes the contiguous zone. States also have rights to the seabed of what is called the continental shelf up to 350 nautical miles (648 km) from the coastal baseline, beyond the EEZ, but such areas are not part of their EEZ. The legal definition of the continental shelf does not directly correspond to the geological meaning of the term, as it also includes the continental rise and slope, and the entire seabed within the EEZ.

Editor's Note: Related informational article

Kastelorizo – Mediterranean Flashpoint?


Πηγή: Grethi Plethi
By Daniel Pipes
Feb 8 2012

Kastelorizo off the Anatolian coast and between Rhodes and Cyprus.

Remember the name Kastelorizo; you heard it here first.

It is the far-flung, easternmost island of Greece, 80 miles from Rhodes, 170 miles west of Cyprus, but just 1 mile off the coast of Turkey. Kastelorizo (in Greek, Καστελόριζο; or officially Megisti, Μεγίστη) is tiny, comprising just 5 square miles, plus some yet smaller, uninhabited islands. Its 430 inhabitants are way down from 10,000 in the late nineteenth century. The Lonely Planet travel guide has picked it as one of the four best Greek islands (out of thousands) for diving and snorkeling. There’s no public transportation from nearby Anatolia, only from distant Rhodes by airplane or ferry.

That Athens controls this wisp of land implies it could (but does not yet) claim an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Mediterranean Sea that reduces the Turkish EEZ to a fraction of what it would be were the island under Ankara’s control, as maps reproduced from the Cypriot newspaper 'I Simerini' illustrate show. The top map shows the Greece claiming its full 200-nautical mile EEZ and controlling Kastelorizo EEZ (indicated by the red arrow); the bottom one shows the Greek EEZ minus Kastelorizo (indicated by the white arrow).

Top: Greece's EEZ with Kastelorizo. Bottom: Greece's EEZ without Kastelorizo.

Were Athens to claim its full EEZ, Kastelorizo’s presence would make its EEZ contiguous with the EEZ of Cyprus, a factor with great import now, at a moment of massive off-shore gas and oil discoveries. Kastelorizo with an EEZ benefits the emerging Greece-Cyprus-Israel alliance by making it possible to transport either Cypriot and Israeli natural gas (via pipeline) or electricity (via cable) to Western Europe without Turkish permission. This has taken on special urgency since Nov. 4, when Turkey’s minister for energy, Taner Yıldız, announced that his government would not permit Israeli natural gas to transit Turkish territory; Ankara will likely also ban Cypriot exports.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his ruling AKP party colleagues accept Greek control of Kastelorizo and its six nautical miles of territorial waters, but not more and certainly not its full EEZ rights. Indeed, in their eyes, Greek assertion of an EEZ constitutes a casus belli. By neutering Kastelorizo, Ankara can lay claim to large economic area in the Mediterranean and block cooperation among its adversaries. This is why the island could become a flashpoint.

Several developments point to AKP intimidation of Greece concerning Kastelorizo. First, in September, it authorized a Norwegian ship, the Bergen Surveyor, accompanied by other sea craft, to begin prospecting for gas and oil south of Kastelorizo, including some of the island’s continental shelf. Second, Turkish warships have trained with live ammunition between Rhodes and Kastelorizo. Finally, Turkish military aircraft four times in 2011 overflew Kastelorizo without permission, sometimes very low with reconnaissance aircraft.

This bellicosity fits a larger pattern. The AKP government, especially since it has took full control of the armed forces in late July, has shown increasing hostility toward Cyprus, Israel, Syria, and Iraq. In addition, Ankara has long denied Cyprus its EEZ, so doing the same vis-à-vis Kastelorizo builds on an established policy. Indeed, the Turks’ brutal, napalm-assisted 1974 conquest of the northern 36 percent of Cyprus set a precedent for seizing nearby island territory. Grabbing Kastelorizo would require about as much time as reading this article.΄

George Papandreou, then prime minister of Greece, visited Kastelorizo in April 2010.

So far, responses to heightened Turkish aggressiveness in the Mediterranean have focused on deterring Turkish feints toward gas and oil reserves in the Cypriot EEZ, with navies and statements from the United States and Russia backing the Republic of Cyprus’ right to exploit its economic resources. Cypriot president Demetris Christofiaswarned that if Ankara persists with its gunboat diplomacy, “there will be consequences which, for sure, will not be good.” Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told the Greeks that “If anyone tries to challenge these drillings, we will meet those challenges” and his government enhanced security not only for its own maritime fields but also for drilling areas in Cypriot waters. On at least one occasion,Israeli warplanes have confronted Turkish ships.

Such clear signals of resolve are welcome. As the European Union pushes Greece to drill for hydrocarbons to find new sources of income, it should also support Athens declaring its EEZ, reject AKP troublemaking vis-à-vis Kastelorizo, and clearly indicate the dire results for Turkey of any trouble-making toward an island now happily renowned for its diving and snorkeling.

Mr. Pipes (DanielPipes.org) is president of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University.