Athens is on diplomatic alert after the decision by Libya’s House of Representatives to approve the 2019 Turkish-Libyan memorandum on the delimitation of maritime zones.
It is undoubtedly an unwelcome development for Greek interests, bringing Turkey’s ambitions in the Eastern Mediterranean back into focus. A positive factor for Greece is the EU’s immediate and clear response, reiterating its support for Greece and Cyprus.
Athens insists that the Libyan parliament’s decision does not alter the memorandum’s legal character, which, in Greece’s view, violates the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and disregards Greek islands’ rights to maritime zones. The Foreign Ministry stresses that geography and international law cannot be changed by unilateral parliamentary decisions, while making clear that Greece will take all appropriate steps to defend its sovereign rights.
The joint statement by Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa is also significant. They reiterated Brussels’ longstanding position, as set out by the European Council in 2019. The EU intervention gives Athens a clear diplomatic basis for its position, without, however, removing the need for concrete action in response to the latest developments.
Against this backdrop, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis held telephone calls with both his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, and the Cypriot foreign minister.
The focus has now inevitably shifted to what happens next and the options available to Athens. The scenarios under consideration include:
- Extending territorial waters to 12 nautical miles around the whole of Crete, a move with clear geopolitical implications that requires careful assessment of its consequences.
- Delimiting an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) with Cyprus, based on the principles of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and relevant cartographic and legal approaches, including the map of Seville.
- Closer coordination with Egypt, with the aim of safeguarding the EEZ delimitation agreement signed by the two countries and preventing possible moves by Ankara that could challenge it.
- Taking the matter to the appropriate international bodies and strengthening Greece’s legal arguments, including by citing Libya’s earlier positions. Before the Turkish-Libyan memorandum, Libya had recognised at international level that its northern maritime neighbours were Greece, Italy and Malta only — not Turkey.
- Freezing European aid programmes for the authorities in Tripoli and Benghazi, as a possible means of applying political pressure, if such a move is judged likely to advance Greece’s position effectively.
Opposition reactions
As expected, the development sparked political controversy at home. PASOK called it a serious setback, linking it to the Tripoli government’s note verbale in August 2026 concerning Greek hydrocarbon activities south of Crete. It also accused the government of lacking a coherent strategy and of handling relations with Libya inconsistently.
The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) argues that the developments expose Greek foreign policy and, in its view, disprove assurances about the effectiveness of international alliances. The Greek Solution, meanwhile, is calling for a more forceful stance, urging the government to show in practice that it is ready to respond to Turkish provocations in the area around Kasos.