Shared European borders require a single maritime policy

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis plans to raise a controversial maritime border agreement between Libya and Turkey at an informal meeting of EU leaders in Dublin. Tensions flared recently following the deployment of the vessel Abeille Marengo, after which Ankara issued a Navtex attempting to assert licensing authority over maritime areas—a claim promptly rejected by Athens as invalid.

Maritime friction in the eastern Mediterranean extends beyond routine disputes over naval advisories or strategic energy links like the proposed Greece-Cyprus electrical interconnection. These recurring standoffs repeatedly intrude on the Union's diplomatic agenda, leaving individual member states to handle territorial claims on their own.

Sceptics of deeper integration often argue that regional maritime boundary disputes involve complex legal and historical claims best resolved through direct bilateral negotiations between the immediate neighbours involved.

Yet leaving maritime security to bilateral friction overlooks a core reality of the Union. An external border of one member state is an external border of Europe. When member states face unilateral maritime claims, a unified diplomatic stance gives the Union far greater weight to defend international legal norms and secure shared energy infrastructure.