Greece on Wednesday issued an act establishing the National Spatial Strategy for Maritime Space (NSSMS), which specifies and maps Greece's Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP), through an initiative of the Environment and Energy Ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the other ministries responsible.
As the foreign ministry said in a statement, "this is an important initiative, as for the first time our country lays down the rules for the organisation of maritime space."
"The MSP is a comprehensive spatial planning framework and is an essential requirement for the successful development of a blue and circular economy, clearly setting down the human activities that can be carried out in all marine zones in Greece, with respect for the imperative necessity of protecting the environment.
"The approach followed in the preparation of the National Spatial Strategy for Maritime Space combined often conflicting social, economic, energy and environmental parameters, in order to serve a series of interrelated objectives, such as the climate resilience of the marine environment, sustainable tourism development, the protection of our cultural heritage and especially of submerged antiquities, the improvement and protection of maritime transport, the exploitation of the country's energy resources, fish farming and the strengthening of cross-border projects of common interest," the announcement said.
It noted that the MSP takes into account the interactions between terrestrial and maritime activities and emphasises consultation and co-formulation of priorities per region, through the establishment of MSP Frameworks.
"With the MSP and the NSSMS, the Greek State for the first time delineates detailed uses of its maritime zones, implementing the obligation arising from Directive 2014/89/EU and exercising the rights arising from International Law," it concluded.