“Turkey must sign and ratify the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” said Josep Borel, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, when asked by Manolis Kefalogiannis.
The ND MEP had raised issues regarding Turkey’s stance and had asked to be informed about the actions that the Commission intends to take. As he stressed, on the one hand, Turkey remains, although it is an EU accession country, even today one of the few countries that have not signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. An International Convention that is an acquis communautaire as it has been signed by all EU member states but also the European Union itself as an International Organization.
On the other hand, Turkey proceeded to delimit the Exclusive Economic Zone with Libya with the illegal and invalid Turkish-Libyan memorandum, challenging Article 121 of the Convention on the Law of the Sea and dispossessing the sovereign right of the Greek islands to the EEZ.
In his catalytic reply, Mr Borrell, on behalf of the Commission, explicitly states that Turkey’s obligation to sign and ratify the Convention on the Law of the Sea:
“Turkey is a candidate country for EU membership and therefore must harmonize its national legislation with the acquis of the European Union, of which the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is a part.”
Regarding the Turkish-Libyan memorandum, it explicitly states: “As stated in the Commission Ε Ε τή Ε Ε Ε Ε Ε Επιτροπής Επιτροπής Επιτροπής Επιτροπής Όπως Όπως Όπως international law as codified by UNCLOS and have no legal effect on third countries “.
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