Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is a particularly important strategic move for Greece for many reasons — geopolitical, developmental, and environmental.
Greece on Wednesday issued an act establishing the National Spatial Strategy for Maritime Space (NSSMS), which specifies and maps Greece’s Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP), through an initiative of the Environment and Energy Ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the other ministries responsible.
Why is the country’s Maritime Spatial Planning important?
For the first time, Greece’s positions regarding nearly 480,000 sq. km of maritime zones are being clearly mapped out, while full effect is simultaneously attributed to all the country’s island and mainland coasts.
As a result, with the effect given to Kastellorizo and Strongyli, the eastern boundaries of the Greek continental shelf adjoin the western boundaries of Cyprus’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Maritime Spatial Planning of Greece (Map)
The map is designed based on the 6 nautical mile limit and preserves Greece’s inalienable right to extend its territorial sea up to 12 nautical miles.
The map depicts four maritime regions (Spatial Units), taking into account:
- Continental shelf boundaries as defined in the Greece-Italy Agreements of 1977 and 2020.
- EEZ boundaries as defined in the Greece-Egypt Agreement of 2020.
- The depiction of the median line that determines the external limits of the Greek continental shelf, until delimitation agreements are concluded with neighboring states whose coasts are adjacent or opposite to those of Greece (Law 4001/2011).
- The territorial sea limit (according to current national legislation, the Greece-Turkey Protocol of 1926, the Italy-Turkey Agreement and Protocol of 1932), with the general reservation for the extension of the width up to 12 nautical miles, in accordance with the Law of the Sea Convention, which reflects customary international law.
Regarding areas without delimitation, the median line is depicted, determining the external boundary of the Greek continental shelf until agreements are concluded with neighboring states whose coasts are adjacent or opposite to those of Greece.
Maritime Spatial Planning and its specification through mapping represent the registration of activities across all maritime zones of the country — not the exercise of sovereign rights. Sovereignty is not subject to planning. It preexists and is not affected by this process.
Maritime Spatial Planning constitutes a substantial obligation of Greece toward the European Union, deriving from specific EU directives and contributing to the achievement of several European strategies, such as the Green Deal and the European Union Maritime Security Strategy (EUMSS). It has absolutely no connection to the declaration of marine parks in the Aegean, which is an entirely separate process.
Questions and answers regarding Greece’s Maritime Spatial Planning follow.
What is Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP)?
Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) maps human activities across all maritime zones of our country, with environmental protection as a key guiding principle.
At the same time, it determines the compatibility and simultaneous development of these activities, always aiming at the sustainable development of marine areas and the utilization of marine resources. The geographical scope of maritime spatial planning was defined in accordance with existing European Union legislation and the International Law of the Sea, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
This process is provided for in Directive 2014/89/EU, thereby fulfilling Greece’s European obligation. Proper transposition of the directive into national law is essential for the development of a sustainable blue economy, sustainable management of marine resources, and the preservation of healthy marine ecosystems and biodiversity, in line with the European Green Deal.
It is worth noting that this directive does not affect the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of member states over marine waters, which derive from the relevant provisions of international law, especially UNCLOS.
Why was Maritime Spatial Planning divided into four spatial units?
Because this structure reflects the administrative organization of the corresponding Regions. The issuance of the respective maritime spatial frameworks will follow, similar to the Regional Spatial Frameworks (12 out of 13 have already been published, with the 13th underway).
Does MSP have geopolitical significance?
The geographical scope of MSP was determined in line with existing EU legislation and international maritime law, particularly UNCLOS. Maritime spatial planning implements several European strategies and is part of the European acquis.
Does the map reflect Greece’s EEZ across the entire national territory (Ionian Sea, Aegean Sea, and Eastern Mediterranean)?
The delimitation of maritime zones is a different process from maritime spatial planning. MSP refers to the procedure through which member state authorities analyze and organize human activities in the above maritime areas to achieve ecological, economic, and social goals. Therefore, the map reflecting Greece’s MSP does not constitute an EEZ delimitation.
Does the map reflect the extension of Greece’s territorial waters to 12 nautical miles (in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean)?
The extension of territorial waters up to 12 nautical miles is an inalienable right of our country, derived from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It is a right that Greece reserves the option to exercise when and as it deems appropriate in line with its national interest and according to international law.
What is the goal of MSP?
Maritime Spatial Planning enables a coordinated — rather than fragmented — approach to delineating human activities.
It organizes maritime space and ensures the smooth interaction between land and sea-based activities, aiming to protect the environment and achieve sustainable development. During the drafting of MSP, social, economic, energy, and environmental factors will be taken into account for activities such as:
- protection of the marine environment from the impacts of climate change — including through the designation of marine parks,
- preservation of cultural heritage, especially underwater antiquities,
- improvement and protection of maritime transport,
- sustainable tourism development,
- exploitation of the country’s energy resources, especially potential natural gas deposits and offshore wind farms,
- aquaculture,
- enhancement of cross-border infrastructure of common interest with other EU member states and the immediate region.