Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Boundaries in troubled waters Professor Haritini Dipla University of Athens

 A sub regional Sea of the Mediterranean, which is considered a semi enclosed sea in accordance with article 122 of the UNCLOS  Coastal States: Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. Three among them are not parties to the UNCLOS ( Israel, Syria and Turkey). Introduction

 All the Mediterranean States have a territorial sea.  A number of them have a contiguous zone or an archaeological zone.  The initial Mediterranean States’ practice consisting in abstaining to create EEZ beyond the territorial Sea or the contiguous zone is being reviewed. A number of diversified zones (fisheries protection zones, ecological protection zones) have been proclaimed in the Western and Central Mediterranean.  In the Eastern Mediterranean, the recent discoveries of important natural gas deposits south of Cyprus and in the Levant Basin have led the coastal States to ascertain/delimit their rights over their EEZ. 1. Existing maritime zones

 Cyprus/Egypt (2003)  Cyprus/Lebanon (2007)  Cyprus/Israel (2010) 2. Existing EEZ delimitation agreements in the Eastern Mediterranean

 Reactions and objections have been addressed to the SG of the United Nations by Turkey in respect to the Cyprus/Egypt 2003 agreement  Turkey has also reacted against the Cyprus/Lebanon 2007 Agreement and the 2010 Cyprus/Israel Agreement  Lebanon, which has not ratified the Cyprus/Lebanon agreement, has objected the position of the northern final point agreed upon in the 2010 Cyprus/Israel Agreement 3. Problems and disputes arising from existing EEZ agreements

 Greece / Turkey  Cyprus/Turkey  Syria/Turkey  Cyprus/Syria  Lebanon/Syria  Israel/Lebanon  Egypt/Israel  Greece/Egypt 4. Remaining delimitations with respect to existing and potential claims

 The discoveries of natural resources in the seabed of the Eastern Mediterranean has changed dramatically the energy and geopolitical landscape in the region  The initial euphoria that led the interested States to rush to proclaim/delimit, following the strong reactions their EEZs has ceded the place to a more 5. Resolution of disputes and concluding remarks