Successful maritime delimitation deals with Italy and Egypt may be followed by an increased Greek focus on a similar deal with Albania.
Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias told SKAI TV last week that the maritime delimitation with Albania “is a matter that Greek foreign policy will handle. There is no question about that.”
In June, Greece and Italy signed a deal on exclusive economic zones (EEZ), and then in August, Greece signed another similar deal with Egypt.
In the case of Albania, Dendias is less optimistic for a quick deal but acknowledges the work done in years in this regard.
Asked whether it’s Albania’s turn in order for Greece to complete agreements regarding the Ionian sea, Dendias replied:
“Things are a little tricky there, because Albania initially agreed, and then took the matter to its Constitutional Court. There are some domestic legal issues – their issues: The President’s giving authorization to the government, which he may not be prepared to give. But it is a matter that Greek foreign policy will handle. There is no question about that.”
In 2009, Albania and Greece signed an Agreement for the Delimitation of the Greek-Albanian Continental Shelf and Maritime Zones.
However, it was not implemented after the Albanian Constitutional Court nullified it due to violations of the Constitution and territorial integrity.
The main issue resulting in the Court’s decision was the status of some rocky, uninhabited and Greek islands without economic life between the two countries, which the 2009 agreement considered as Greek land in full effect.
In 2018, negotiations between the two countries resumed but then the Greek government changed soon and negotiations stalled.
Minister Dendias stressed the neighborly relations with Albania and said he was sure this issue, as well as the protection of human rights of Greek minority will be solved soon.
