EU leaders condemned the Turkey-Libya maritime deal at a meeting in Brussels early Friday, declaring the boundary demarcation agreement to be in breach of international laws.
The text is a part of “European Council meeting (12 December 2019) – Conclusions”: “The European Council recalls its previous conclusions on Turkey of 22 March and 20 June. It reconfirms its conclusions of 17-18 October concerning Turkey’s illegal drilling activities in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone. The Turkey-Libya Memorandum of Understanding on the delimitation of maritime jurisdictions in the Mediterranean Sea infringes upon the sovereign rights of third States, does not comply with the Law of the Sea and cannot produce any legal consequences for third States. The European Council unequivocally reaffirms its solidarity with Greece and Cyprus regarding these actions by Turkey.,” and agreed by EU leaders states.
The agreement between Libya and Turkey was signed on 27th of November and passed by Turkey’s Parliament on 5th of December. It went into effect on 7th of December in Turkey and the following day in Libya after the two countries published it in their respective official gazettes.
The memorandum, determining both countries’ maritime jurisdictions, rejects unilateral and illegal activities by other regional countries and international firms and aims to protect the rights of both countries.
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