Work on drafting the presidential decree for the National Marine Park in the Ionian Sea could be completed as early as this week. Sources had made clear early on that the Ionian park required more detailed work than the National Marine Park in the South Aegean, due to the added complexity around land use issues in that area.
Once the Ionian park’s presidential decree is ready, according to the same sources, it will be submitted to the “Nature 2000” Committee, the government’s central advisory body that, together with the Ministry of Environment and Energy, oversees the implementation of measures for Natura network areas and plays a key role in coordinating and monitoring environmental protection.
After that committee approves the decree for the Ionian marine park, the text will still need final sign-off from the co-responsible ministries before it can be submitted to the Council of State for formal establishment. That step is expected in the fall, since the Ionian park’s decree isn’t likely to get the green light from the “Nature 2000” Committee and the ministries before September.
As for the South Aegean marine park’s decree, signed on July 15 and now with the country’s top administrative court for formal establishment, past experience with similar submissions to the Council of State means no one can say for certain when final approval will come. Still, if everything goes smoothly, October is the month when the South Aegean marine park in particular could be finalized, allowing the marine protection rules from the Natural Environment and Climate Change Organization to take effect.
Early 2027
Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou had said, when the South Aegean park’s decree was signed a few days earlier (7/15), that the country’s goal is to have both parks ready in the first months of 2027. That would let Greece meet, ahead of the EU’s own 2030 deadline, the bloc’s requirement that member states protect 30% of their seas, and then some, since the two marine parks together are expected to bring Greece’s marine protection coverage to about 35%.
With the creation of the two parks in the Aegean and Ionian, Turkey’s reaction is considered a given, since Ankara is set to finalize, also in October, its own contentious “Blue Homeland” legislation, which, according to leaks in the Turkish press, is said to grant the Turkish president sweeping powers over maritime jurisdiction zones.
Ever since Athens first announced plans for the two marine parks aimed at protecting marine life within its territorial waters, Ankara has pushed back, threatening to create marine parks of its own. Months ago, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also described Greek maps as drawing “imaginary and invalid” and “non-existent maritime borders,” calling Greece’s moves “unilateral actions” and renewing its call for cooperation in the Aegean.
