EU foreign affairs chief urges Turkey to sign UNCLOS
The European Union’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell has urged Turkey to sign the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Responding to a question by Greek MEP Manolis Kefalogiannis, Borrell said that being a candidate for EU membership, Turkey must harmonize its national legislation with the bloc’s “acquis communautaire” – the laws, regulations and court decisions by which all members agreed to abide.
The EU has signed and ratified UNCLOS.
Speaking of the Turkey-Libya memorandum of understanding on the delimitation of maritime jurisdictions in the Mediterranean Sea, Borrell repeated the EU position that the 2019 agreement violates the sovereign rights of third countries, it does not comply with customary international law as codified by UNCLOS, and has no legal consequences for third countries.
