Greece has officially ratified the international High Seas Treaty, also known as the agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, aimed at protecting the world’s oceans. With this move, Greece becomes the third European Union country—after France and Spain—to endorse the treaty, which aims to safeguard international waters that cover nearly half of Earth’s surface. The European Union has already signed the treaty as a bloc.
The treaty, finalized in New York in 2023, is the first legally binding international agreement focused on conserving biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. So far, 22 of the 112 participating countries have ratified it.
Major political parties in Greece, including New Democracy, PASOK, SYRIZA, and New Left, supported the ratification. The Communist Party (KKE) opposed it, while several smaller opposition parties abstained by declaring themselves “present.”
The agreement complements the 1994 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, expanding its focus to include modern concerns such as biodiversity loss, pollution, overfishing, and climate change-related ocean degradation.
One of the treaty’s key goals is to help meet the global “30 by 30” target—protecting 30% of land and ocean areas by 2030—adopted in Montreal in 2022. It allows for the creation of marine protected areas and establishes rules for conducting environmental impact assessments for high seas activities.
Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou emphasized the treaty’s urgency in light of climate change. “The adoption of this Agreement comes at a time when the devastating effects of the climate crisis are no longer a scientific scenario but a grim reality and global warming is radically changing the oceans,” she said. She noted rising temperatures, increased ocean acidity, and declining oxygen levels as major concerns.
Papadopoulou also clarified that routine shipping and fishing will not be broadly affected, except where specific protections are enacted.
The Deputy Foreign Minister also responded to whether Turkey could unilaterally declare marine protected areas in the international waters overlying the continental shelf. “This cannot be done. Only the Assembly of the Parties can make such a declaration, by unanimity, in accordance with the procedures of Articles 22 and 23 of the Agreement,” Papadopoulou said.
