The European Union has expressed its strong displeasure over the ratification of the 2019 Turkey-Libya memorandum by the Libyan House of Representatives, categorically reiterating that the agreement is null and void, incompatible with the Law of the Sea, and cannot produce any legal effects for third-party states.
The EU’s response comes following the decision by the Libyan House of Representatives, on October 20, 2026, to ratify the “Memorandum of Understanding between Turkey and Libya on the Delimitation of Maritime Jurisdiction Areas in the Mediterranean Sea” — an agreement signed in 2019 that continues to be a flashpoint for serious diplomatic and legal disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Through a statement issued by the High Representative on behalf of the EU, Brussels made it unequivocally clear that the ratification of the memorandum does nothing to alter the bloc’s longstanding position on the agreement, which, according to the Union, violates the sovereign rights of third-party states.
The EU reaffirms its standing position on the Turkey-Libya memorandum
The statement emphasizes that the European Union’s position remains firm and unambiguous, as originally articulated in the European Council Conclusions of December 2019 and reaffirmed in June 2025.
The EU underscores that the Turkey-Libya memorandum violates the sovereign rights of third-party states and is incompatible with the Law of the Sea, effectively rejecting any attempt to grant the agreement legal force against states that are not parties to it.
Of particular significance is the explicit declaration that the memorandum is “null and void” and cannot produce legal consequences for third-party states. With this wording, the European Union reiterates that the ratification of the agreement by the Libyan parliament does not override the objections that have been raised regarding its compatibility with international law.
The full statement reads:
The EU expresses its strong displeasure at the ratification, on 20 October 2026, by the Libyan House of Representatives of the 2019 “Memorandum of Understanding between Turkey and Libya on the Delimitation of Maritime Jurisdiction Areas in the Mediterranean Sea.”
The EU’s position on this Memorandum is firm and clear. As stated in the European Council Conclusions of December 2019 and reaffirmed in June 2025, the Turkey-Libya Memorandum of Understanding violates the sovereign rights of third-party states and is not compatible with the Law of the Sea. It is null and void and cannot produce legal consequences for third-party states.
The EU has a strategic interest in a stable and secure environment in the Eastern Mediterranean and calls on all countries to respect the sovereign rights of all states in accordance with EU law and international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
