Greece has formally declared an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Ionian Sea, extending from the island of Corfu down to Cape Tainaron in the southern Peloponnese. The EEZ’s declaration was made by Presidential Decree No. 33, published in the Government Gazette on April 17, 2025. It follows the formal unveiling of Greece’s Maritime Spatial Plan (MSP) a day earlier.
A country’s MSP outlines how maritime areas will be used and managed, aiming to reduce conflicts and promote sustainable development of the oceans. The process involves mapping current and potential sea uses—including fishing, energy production, shipping, and conservation—and assigning spatial zones accordingly. Legal instruments, in this case Greece’s Presidential Decree, then formally establish EEZ boundaries by referencing the MSP and any other applicable international agreements.
Greece’s EEZ in the Ionian Sea is based on the 2020 bilateral maritime delimitation agreement with Italy, which established a line between the two countries’ respective continental shelves in 1977. The new Presidential Decree also affirms Greece’s intention to apply similar maritime rights in other areas, as provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which Greece signed in 1982.
In an interview on ERT News, Deputy Foreign Minister Tasos Chatzivasileiou emphasized that “this map is essentially the depiction and visual representation of the national positions and the outermost boundaries of the potential EEZ of the Hellenic Republic. The division has been made for practical reasons—essentially as if we are making a regional distinction, similar to how we have regional units within the country. In a similar manner, this division is also applied at sea. It is purely for operational purposes.
What matters is that Athens, today, is here to serve international law and to prove in practice that it defends the national interest without turning against any neighboring state. And this is a principle which, as you can see, the government consistently upholds.”
Turkey responded with a statement from its Foreign Ministry, claiming that the decree “violates Türkiye’s maritime jurisdiction areas in both the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean,” and announced plans to submit its own MSP to UNESCO and relevant United Nations bodies.
