Commission measures to protect Greece’s sovereign rights following the Libyan Note Verbale

Question for written answer E-002866/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Yannis Maniatis (S&D)

At a time when the EU is trying to assert its geopolitical 'stature', there are still countries that blatantly disregard the sovereign rights of its Member States and - by extension - the interests of the Union.

As from 2011-2014, Greece has adopted legislation (Law 4001/2011) and mapped the outer boundaries of the Greek continental shelf and EEZ on the basis of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Nonetheless, not only do Türkiye and Libya not respect this international treaty, but they are in flagrant violation of it by signing the illegal and invalid Turkish-Libyan memorandum of understanding, which has not even been ratified by the Libyan Parliament.

In response to the publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (12 June) of a Greek tender for hydrocarbon exploration, the Libyan Government sent a Note Verbale to the UN in which - in breach of international law - it challenges the principle of the median line for defining the EEZs of Greece and Libya, threatening research that contributes to the EU's energy autonomy. The Turkish-Libyan memorandum was condemned at a recent European Council meeting, which deemed that it violated the sovereign rights of Member States, was incompatible with the law of the sea and could not produce legal consequences for non-EU countries.

What practical measures does the Commission intend to take against Libya to turn the European Council's condemnatory decision into real action?

Submitted: 14.7.2025