Η αποκλειστική οικονομική ζώνη της Ελλάδας. Τα όρια και η οικονομική σημασία των θαλάσσιων συνόρων της

Ελευθεριάδου, Νικολέτα Γ.

Master Thesis

Author

Ελευθεριάδου, Νικολέτα Γ.

Date

2013-03-06

Abstract

The issue of the definition of a Greek Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) returns lately more and more often to the fore after the agreements of neighbouring states on the delimitation of maritime zones and the recent discovery of hydrocarbon deposits in the south-eastern Mediterranean Basin. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) was established as a concept at the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea and the rules that govern it were included in the new Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982. The establishment of the EEZ constitutes a milestone, as a new maritime zone of exceptional economic importance is institutionalized, which gives coastal states the right to the exclusive exploitation of the marine and offshore resources in a maritime zone extending up to two hundred (200) miles from the coast. This study aims to analyze the evolution of the international law of delimitation of marine zones, while it considers the prospect of the future proclamation of a Greek EEZ and the economic importance of such an act. Since Greece is adjacent to other six (6) coastal states, and the delimitation of maritime zones has to be achieved through agreements, international law of delimitation of maritime zones between neighbouring states was analyzed, in order to reach a conclusion about the possible boundaries of the Greek EEZ. In the last section, there is an attempt to estimate the potential economic benefits that will flow in the case of the proclamation of a Greek EEZ, based on existing studies on the existence of hydrocarbons and other energy sources in the south-eastern Mediterranean Basin.