Croatia welcomes the establishment of Italy’s EEZ in the Adriatic

Zagreb, 7 January 2026 - The Republic of Croatia welcomes the establishment of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Italian Republic in the Adriatic Sea, which entered into force on 3 January 2026.
 
With this step, the process of proclaiming exclusive economic zones off the coasts of the Republic of Croatia and the Italian Republic in the Adriatic, in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, has been completed. The Adriatic Sea is thus no longer an area of high seas; rather, it is a maritime area in which the coastal states exercise their sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, European Union law, and their respective national legislation.
 
In May 2022, the Republic of Croatia and the Italian Republic signed the Agreement on the Delimitation of Their Exclusive Economic Zones, which entered into force in April 2024. Together with the 1975 Treaty of Osimo, which delimited the territorial sea and established the present maritime state border between Croatia and Italy, and the 1968 Agreement delimiting the continental shelf - technically harmonised by the two neighbouring countries in 2005 - this agreement has fully completed the international legal framework governing the maritime delimitation between the two states.
 
By proclaiming exclusive economic zones along the outer limits of their territorial seas, both states have strengthened the international legal framework in these maritime areas for enhanced cooperation in the protection of the Adriatic Sea, its vulnerable marine ecosystem, and its sustainable use, with the aim of further developing the blue economy in accordance with international law, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as European Union legislation.

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