Mediterranean Sea

For reasons that had to do with the fact that the newly born nation had to primarily fight against naval isolation, the US developed a close connection with the Eastern Mediterranean from the early days of its existence. In fact, the first international conflict that the US Marines got involved in was that on the "shores of Tripoli" during the First Barbary War of 1801-05.

With Turkey and Greece locked in a row over energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean, hackers on either side have entered the fray.

The United States considers Greece a major ally and participant in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, cited by BGNES.

"We consider Athens a key ally and a crucial player in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as the Balkans,", the letter stated.

In the Great Game over East Mediterranean gas, the US is strengthening security ties with Greece while Athens and Ankara court opposing sides in the military fight for Tripoli.

France, Greece, Egypt and Greek Cyprus on Jan. 8 declared "null and void" agreements between Ankara and Libya assigning Turkey rights over a vast area of the eastern Mediterranean.

The number of irregular migration recorded on the European Union's external borders fell last year to the lowest level since 2013, due to a drop in the number of people reaching European shores via the Central and Western Mediterranean routes, the European Union's border control agency Frontex said Wednesday.

The East Mediterranean region is rapidly evolving into a strategically vital yet vulnerable region. The so-called Arab Spring and its consequences, especially in Syria and Libya, have made the whole region even more fragile.

The Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act is a "historic, truly transformational development," which places Greece, Cyprus and Israel on the front line of American policy in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey's coastal city of Antalya will host COP22, an international convention on the protection of the Mediterranean marine environment and coastline in 2021, the country's minister of environment said on Dec. 18.

The EU Council adopted a regulation on catch limits for certain species in the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea for the coming year. For Bulgaria and Romania, these restrictions apply to species known as sprat and turbot.