The provocative behaviour of Turkish fishermen, illegal fishing and violations of the law of the sea were mentioned by the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Vassilis Kikilias, in a meeting with the European Commissioner for Oceans and Fisheries, Kostas Kadis.
As the Minister stressed, “I raised with the Commissioner the major issue for Greece, concerning our fishermen and our fisheries, as well as the provocative behaviour of our Turkish neighbours, with illegal fishing, the non-respect of the law of the sea and the questioning of our sovereign rights”.
Kikilias stressed that “in the illegal fishing part we have real problems, which we are asking – because our maritime borders are also European borders and the law of the sea applies to everyone – to be regulated accordingly. We are asking the European Union to intervene at this level. We want solutions to an issue of vital importance for a very important sector for our country, which is fishing.”
In contrast, in the area of illegal migration, the minister noted that with Turkey “there is cooperation and effort so that migration flows are reduced”, noting that “in 2025, flows from the neighbouring country decreased by 45%”.
For his part, Kadis presented the European Commission’s initiatives in the framework of the Ocean Pact and the strategy for the protection and sustainable management of the seas, while he also referred to the harmonisation of fisheries control procedures in Greece. He confirmed the excellent cooperation with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, stressing that the European Commission is at the disposal of the Greek government to support the implementation of European policies in Greece.
