20.10.2026 14:40
The House of Representatives in eastern Libya approved the Memorandum of Understanding on the Delimitation of Maritime Jurisdiction Areas in the Mediterranean signed with Turkey in 2019. Greece had asked Libya not to approve the agreement, arguing that maritime jurisdiction areas should be drawn starting from its own islands, including Crete, that the memorandum between Turkey and Libya violates its exclusive economic zone southeast of Crete, and that it ignores the maritime areas that should be granted to the islands.
The eastern-based House of Representatives, which for years opposed the maritime jurisdiction agreement signed with Turkey, has changed its position. With the chamber’s approval, the agreement has now received the support of both rival administrations in Libya.
BOYCOTT DECISION LIFTED
According to a Reuters report based on two Libyan lawmakers, the House of Representatives formally approved the maritime jurisdiction areas agreement signed with Turkey at its October 20 session. In the same session, the chamber also annulled by majority vote its 2020 boycott decision concerning relations and commercial processes with Turkey.
IT WAS SIGNED IN 2019
The Memorandum of Understanding on the Delimitation of Maritime Jurisdiction Areas in the Mediterranean between Turkey and Libya was signed with the Tripoli-based government in Istanbul on November 27, 2019, and subsequently approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. The memorandum determined the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone boundaries of the two countries along an 18.6-mile line. The United Nations registered the memorandum on September 30, 2020. An additional memorandum signed on October 3, 2022 also granted Turkey the right to explore for oil and natural gas in Libya’s land and maritime areas.
THE EASTERN PARLIAMENT HAD PREVIOUSLY REJECTED IT
Since 2014, Libya has had rival administrations in the east and west. House of Representatives Speaker Aguila Saleh declared the memorandum invalid in December 2019, and the chamber also rejected the security and maritime jurisdiction agreements signed with Turkey in January 2020. In December 2025, Saleh reiterated that the memorandum “is not binding on the Libyan state.”
According to information in the press, on October 6 the chamber elected Saleh al-Abdun Nabi al-Ubaydi as speaker in place of Saleh. Saleh, however, is challenging the validity of the dismissal process.
GREECE, EGYPT AND THE EU OPPOSE IT
Greece argues that the memorandum violates its exclusive economic zone. According to reports in the press, Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis traveled to Benghazi this month and met with Khalifa Haftar in order to block or delay the approval process.
Egypt announced that it would not recognize the agreement and in 2020 signed its own maritime jurisdiction agreement with Greece. The European Union, for its part, argues that the memorandum violates the sovereign rights of third countries and does not produce legal consequences for those countries.