Libya’s ratification of Turkey maritime deal draws divided regional reactions

Nicosia, Cyprus. Political figures across the region expressed contrasting views on Wednesday after Libya’s parliament ratified a maritime boundary deal with Turkey. Greece and the Republic of Cyprus regard the agreement as illegal.

Objections in the European Parliament

Greek MEP Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi, a member of Greece’s governing New Democracy party, opened the day’s European Parliament plenary with an intervention condemning the ratification.

She said the move challenged Greek and Cypriot sovereign rights, breached fundamental principles of international maritime law and threatened peace, security and stability across the eastern Mediterranean.

Vozemberg-Vrionidi argued that parliamentary approval did not change the agreement’s illegal, invalid and unfounded nature. She added that unilateral parliamentary decisions lacking a legal basis could change neither geography nor international maritime law.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola responded at the close of the intervention by expressing shared concern.

Disy highlights implications for Cyprus

Disy, which belongs to the centre-right European People’s Party alongside Vozemberg-Vrionidi and Metsola, also denounced the ratification and warned about its possible consequences for Cyprus.

The party said the development directly affected the Republic of Cyprus because challenging islands’ entitlement to exclusive economic zones and continental shelves weakened the maritime-law principles underpinning Cypriot sovereign rights.

Disy also welcomed the position expressed on Tuesday night by European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The party said their joint statement reaffirmed that the illegal agreement could not establish a fait accompli at the expense of Greek sovereign rights.

Costa and von der Leyen had expressed deep regret over the ratification. They said the deal violated third countries’ sovereign rights, failed to conform to maritime law and had no legal validity.

Ertugruloglu welcomes the decision

By contrast, Turkish Cypriot foreign minister Tahsin Ertugruloglu welcomed the Libyan parliament’s decision in comments to the Cyprus Mail.

He described it as “great news” and added that “after all, not everyone is a puppet of discrimination and blatant misinformation”.