What do Mitsotaki -Makron mean to marine parks and rights of Greece and Cyprus – the next steps

Strong reassurance France’s support in defending the rights of Greece and Cyprus in their marine zones Of the threats they face, the French president gave Emmanuel Macron From the step of the World Conference on Oceans in Nice.

The French president’s statement is of great importance as it comes at a time when the challenges of Greek sovereign rights in Aegean and East Mediterranean have peaked by the Turkeyon the occasion of Marine spatial planningthe Sea parks but also Cyprus-Crete electric interconnection.

Greece, by the end of the month, as the Kyriakos Mitsotakis From the step of the conference, it will institute Ionian and southern Cyclades marine parksheralding other marine parks in the next stage. It is a pending pending months, the announcement of which had sparked strong reactions from Turkey a year ago. Although marine parks will be limited only within the Greek territorial waters of 6 nm, the Turkish reaction focuses on restoring their theory of “Gray zone“, As Turkey argues that many of the islands and islands included in marine parks are” controversial sovereignty “.

The fact that the announcement concerns Sea park to Southern Cycladesleaves out the design for the next phase a large number of islands that Turkey is challenging and which, in informal maps that had seen the light of publicity, were included in the marine park.

There is a strong reaction to the issue of marine spatial planning as well as Greece presented the main map on April 16 And there is still pending the drawing up of all the maps that accompany the MScs and detailed the permitted activities in maritime zones and outside the territorial waters, so that it can be submitted to the Commission and thus a stoppage of the procedure for payment of the fine by the European Court of Justice. The Greek map includes the potential marine zones under sea law, while reflecting territorial waters in the Aegean at 6 nm, noting that it is the right of our country to expand according to the provisions of the sea law.

Of course, in terms of marine parks, the reaction of Turkey It is expected, but the question is whether the rhetorical level also passes on field action, when scientific, environmental and other programs on the islands that are included in marine parks begin to be implemented.

Turkey has designed its own BSEwhich overlaps a large part of the Greek potential marine zones and the areas included by the Greek Map of the MSS, and soon, as Turkish sources point out, will submit it to the relevant international organizations.

In the near future, however, decisions should also be made to expand maritime parks, the completion of the MSS, as well as the continuation of the work on the Cyprus -Crete electric interconnection, so as not to give the impression that Greece is receding from the exercise of its sovereign rights.

Athens, in a very difficult climate, attempts to maintain the process of the Greek -Turkish approach and, after delaying months, will take place this week two meetings will be held: Political dialogue Thursday in Ankara led by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou and her Positive agenda with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tassos Hatzivasiliou in Athens on Friday.

The aim is to formulate the conditions for the Supreme Cooperation Council to be held and the Mitsotaki -Erdogan meeting in Ankarain early July. The two leaders will also be at the NATO Summit in The Hague (June 24-25), but the pressure that will exist from the severity of the Agenda of the Summit and from Donald Trump’s first presence in NATO, after his threats to abandon the transatlantic strategic relationship, will not allow him.

In the past few months the climate has been burdened with so much with Turkey’s aggressive rhetoric in terms of MSSs and marine parksas well as with the obstacles that have raised the continuation of the work of the Cyprus -Crete electric interconnection. Another point of controversy is Greece’s attempt to put on European terms and conditions for the involvement of the Turkish defense industry in Europe’s major re -equipment program, which is of great economic importance for Ankara and politics, as it considers it to be an important step for its de facto participation in one of its most important European closures.