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According to official Athens, our maritime borders are also European borders and the law of the sea applies to all…
Greece on Friday asked the European Union to intervene over what Athens calls illegal fishing and violations of maritime law by Turkish fishermen.
"We ask the European Union to intervene," said Greek Maritime Transport Minister Vasilis Kikilias, adding that "our maritime borders are also European borders and the law of the sea applies to everyone."
Kikilias raised the issue during a meeting in Athens with the European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis. He spoke of “the provocative behavior of our Turkish neighbors regarding illegal fishing, disregard for the law of the sea and questioning sovereign rights.”
Greece and Turkey, although NATO allies, have been at odds for decades over a range of bilateral issues, including maritime borders, overlapping claims over the continental shelf and the Cyprus issue.
Athens has designated restricted fishing zones in the Aegean Sea, some of which Turkey objects to, arguing that they are not under Greek jurisdiction. Greece has also protested a Turkish maritime spatial plan, which defines fishing zones in the Aegean.
According to Athens, on several occasions Turkish fishing vessels have operated in areas that Greece considers territorial waters or spaces under its jurisdiction, sometimes in the presence of Turkish coast guard vessels.
According to a recent Bloomberg report, the Turkish government is preparing to vote by June on the so-called “Blue Homeland” Law, which would codify Ankara’s claims to maritime economic zones in the Aegean Sea and the rest of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Any unilateral attempt to enforce maritime claims outside the framework of international law “is fundamentally doomed to fail,” Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis declared on Thursday.
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