Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Monday that an Exclusive Economic Zone is a better variant of the Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone (EFPZ) and that it constitutes a "better approach regulating relations between coastal countries."
Compared to the existing EFPZ, declared in 2003, the Exclusive Economic Zone brings two new rights - building artificial islands and using sea and wind energy and the energy of currents.
"I would say that this is a form of upgrading. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea encourages that. 120 countries in the world have declared Exclusive Economic Zones. That is in fact a more orderly approach to regulating relations between coastal countries," Grlić Radman said at a press conference in Government House.
It was announced that Croatia and Italy would declare their exclusive economic zones in January.
"The Exclusive Economic Zone is a better variant of the EFPZ," said Grlić Radman.
He stressed that The Exclusive Economic Zone was being declared in accordance with the Law of the Sea, the UN Convention and EU legislation and that it would remain a marine area where all countries would enjoy rights and freedoms guaranteed by international law "without encroaching on Croatia's sovereign rights and jurisdiction." He added that the issue was not new and had been considered for some time.
"When there are two neighbouring countries that share common interests and want to protect the Adriatic as that is their common sea, then it is understandable that they wish to act together," said Grlić Radman.
A state secretary at the ministry, Andreja Metelko-Zgombić, said that in 2003 countries did not have exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean. She recalled that France then had an ecological zone, Spain had a fisheries zone and Croatia eventually declared an EFPZ.
"As we were aware then that we were heading towards the EU, we wished in fact to just copy the practice by other member states in the Mediterranean," said Metelko-Zgombić.
She underscored that now the "objective and idea is to truly protect the Adriatic and at the moment the Adriatic on the Italian side is not protected."
"That part still falls under the regime of the high seas and fishing boats also from third countries can come from that side and fish," she explained.
Text: Hina