Metsola on the Turkish–Libyan memorandum: “Greece and Cyprus can rely on our solidarity” – the European Parliament joins Costa and von der Leyen

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola expressed Parliament’s solidarity with Greece and Cyprus over the illegal Turkish–Libyan memorandum, at the plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday, October 21. Metsola was responding to an intervention by Greek New Democracy MEP Elisabeth Vozemberg, who raised the issue at the opening of the sitting, according to ERT.

“Before I give the floor, allow me to respond briefly on the issue raised by Ms Elisabeth Vozemberg. We greatly appreciate the clarity of the Joint Statement by Presidents Costa and von der Leyen on the so-called memorandum and we share the concerns expressed. Greece and Cyprus can rely on our solidarity,” Metsola said from the presidency chair.

With her statement, the Parliament president aligns herself with the joint statement of European Council President António Costa and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who on Tuesday called the memorandum “null and void” and said it “does not comply” with the Law of the Sea. All three top EU institutions have thus publicly taken a position in favour of Athens and Nicosia within two days.

The memorandum, signed in 2019 by Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Tripoli government, was approved unanimously on October 20 by Libya’s House of Representatives in Benghazi. It draws maritime boundaries between Turkey and Libya that ignore Crete and the Dodecanese, and the EU has held since 2019 that it violates the sovereign rights of third states. Athens called it “spurious, null and void”, while Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said that the text “has no force”.

Greek and Cypriot MEPs are pressing the EU to move from statements to measures. New Democracy MEP Manolis Kefalogiannis asked the Commission, in a parliamentary question, to halt EU funding to Turkey and Libya. The Commission usually answers written questions from MEPs within six weeks. Ankara, for its part, welcomed the Libyan House’s decision and maintains that the memorandum rests on international law.