Nefeli Lygerou: What does the reference of the EEZ delimitation with Albania to The Hague mean?

FM Dendia’s visit to Tirana proved fruitful. As it became known yesterday, the two sides agreed to proceed to negotiations on the delimitation of the EEZ and if they do not succeed to refer their dispute to The Hague. We remind you that in the late 2000s the then governments of Karamanlis and Berisha had signed a demarcation agreement based on the provisions of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, which has been signed by both countries.

That deal did not end well. We note that after the strong reaction of the then leader of the official opposition and the current prime minister, the Albanian Constitutional Court had rejected it with a reason thatfrom afar  “smelled of” a Turkish finger. Indeed, a Greek publication at the time had revealed that the Turks had bribed judges of the Albanian Constitutional Court. That revelation was later confirmed in a speech to the Albanian Parliament by Sali Berisha himself.

Ankara torpedoed that demarcation agreement, because it would be a positive precedent for the Greek positions, which would definitely affect the climate on the Greek-Turkish front. Since then, the issue of the EEZ delimitation between Greece and Albania had been frozen. The two sides returned to the table during the days of Nikos Kotzias at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the negotiations that took place at that time, the two sides had reached a draft agreement, which gave the Albanian side a significant sea area, which under the initial agreement would belong to Greece. This plan, however, did not turn into a signed agreement. The concession to Albania is borne out not only from the reports of the time, but also from a map presented by the Albanian Foreign Minister Busati, without any refutation on the part of Athens.

The Ankara-Tripoli memorandum signed about a year ago forced Greek diplomacy to move quickly in order to close fronts and create positive precedents. Indeed, Nikos Dendias renewed the 1977 agreement for the delimitation of the continental shelf with Italy, in order to define the EEZ. A few months ago, the EEZ partial demarcation agreement with Egypt was signed.

Greece does not make discounts

In order to achieve the signing of these two agreements, Athens was forced to make serious concessions to both Rome (mainly in the fisheries sector) and Cairo (it accepted reduced influence of Crete). On the other hand, these two agreements created a legal-political fact, which strengthened the Greek diplomatic quiver.

The forthcoming EEZ delimitation agreement with Albania is registered in the same context. Having Eddie Rama at the forefront of torpedoing the original Greek-Albanian agreement, he could not accept it without significant changes. On the other hand, Greece is not prepared to make serious discounts either. Thus, with the backstage urging of both Washington and European governments, the two sides agreed to refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice.

The referral method has the advantage of removing any political costs from both governments, in the sense that the demarcation will have the stamp of the international court, which both countries are obliged to respect. What is not yet known is whether the relevant document to be drafted, a kind of co-promise, will indicate to the International Court of Justice how to delimit or simply ask it to delimit under the Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Turkish stance

Although a Greek-Albanian agreement will not directly affect Ankara’s stance, it is clear that it will intensify the pressure, as Turkey will remain the only country in the Mediterranean (and beyond) that does not comply with the Law of the Sea, claiming it is illegal.

According to information, the Erdogan regime tried to torpedo the possibility of demarcating the EEZ between Greece and Albania, but failed. The reason is that the Rama government weighed not only the Greek pressure, but also the pressure from both the EU and the US.

According to diplomatic circles, the process will proceed at a rapid pace. This means that the demarcation decision will not be long in coming. Athens justifiably believes that even with the Greek-Albanian agreement, the blockade will begin to close. According to the same sources, it is possible that Greek diplomacy will then turn to Libya for a demarcation agreement, proposing exactly the same method, the referral to The Hague, after of course the Ankara-Tripoli memorandum has been bypassed.