Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is reportedly working on legislation that would enable the president to declare an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extending up to 200 nautical miles from Turkey’s coasts, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.
The draft law would authorize Erdogan to assert Turkish rights over fishing, mining, drilling, and the establishment of marine parks, including in contested areas of the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean, where EU member states Greece and Cyprus maintain overlapping claims.
According to the same sources, the initiative is aimed at countering Greek and Cypriot positions in the resource-rich eastern Mediterranean while signaling that Turkey “cannot be sidelined” in regional energy disputes.
Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal states may establish EEZs of up to 200 nautical miles, though overlapping claims require bilateral agreements. Turkey has not ratified the convention, a point highlighted by analysts noting the country’s reliance on maritime legal principles it has not formally accepted.
Ankara rejects Greece’s position that maritime boundaries are determined by the Greek islands, some of which are located near the Turkish coast, arguing instead that continental shelf rights should be based on mainland territory.
