Law of the sea

Greece has received no invitation from Turkey to resume exploratory talks, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexandros Papaioannou said on Monday.

New government spokesman Christos Tarantilis on Monday hailed the tabling of a new bill foreseeing the extension of the western limit of Greece's territorial waters in the Ionian Sea to 12 nautical miles as a "historic decision."

Greece's conservative government has submitted a bill to parliament to extend the western limit of its territorial waters in the Ionian Sea to 12 nautical miles, following negotiations with its regional neighbors Italy and Albania.

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on Saturday hailed a new bill that will extend Greece's western maritime boundaries to 12 miles offshore from six.

A bill that extends Greece's territorial waters to 12 miles from the current 6 on the western part of the country only has been tabled in Parliament.

The parliamentary committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense will begin debate on the bill on Tuesday, January 12; a second reading will take place on Jan. 15 and the plenary session will take up the bill on Jan. 19.

The presidential decree on the closing of bays and drawing of straight baselines in the maritime area of the Ionian and the Ionian islands up to Cape Tainaro in the Peloponnese entered into force through its publication in the government gazette Sunday.

The move is a necessary step in the process of extending Greece's western territorial waters.

The United Kingdom has announced the extension of sanctions on persons involved in illegal drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean, namely in Cyprus, beyond December 31, when the transitional period for the UK's formal exit from the European Union expires.

Koper – Croatia should first come to an agreement with Slovenia on the implementation of the border arbitration award in line with international law and only then expand its rights at sea, international maritime law professor Marko Pavliha told the STA in reference to Croatia’s plans to declare an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic Sea.

The Croatian government on Monday decided to declare an exclusive economic zone, EEZ, in the Adriatic Sea. Parliament will hold an extraordinary session this week to confirm the decision.

The "Blue Homeland" doctrine is the ultimate expression of overblown Turkish aspirations. It encapsulates maximalist claims that are in flagrant violation of the Law of the Sea, such as the ludicrous theory that islands are not entitled to a continental shelf and, therefore, that the Greek islands east of the 25th meridian are in areas under Turkey's maritime jurisdiction.