Greece announces plans on maritime use, irking neighboring Turkey
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece on Wednesday announced plans for managing human activities in maritime areas, such as tourism, offshore energy drilling, fishing and environmental protection, irking neighboring Turkey, which said the plans encroach on its jurisdiction.
The announcement about Greece's Maritime Spatial Planning came after the country was rebuked by the European Court of Justice earlier this year for failing to submit the plans to the European Commission, as all coastal European Union member states are required to do. Spatial planning for sea areas is considered necessary for the sustainable use of marine resources, setting out where activities such as transport, tourism, fishing and renewable energy projects can take place, and for the protection of marine environments.
But Turkey's Foreign Ministry said some of the areas specified in Greece's plan 'violate our country's maritime jurisdiction areas in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean.'
Although NATO allies, Greece and Turkey have been at loggerheads for years over boundaries in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean, with escalating tension bringing them close to war several times in recent decades. One of the main contentions between the two is the delineation of the continental shelf – the proportion of the seabed that belongs to each country, as well as with the boundaries of each one's exclusive economic zone.
Greece has agreements in place delineating its exclusive economic zones with Italy and with Egypt, but not with Turkey.
'We would like to remind the need to avoid unilateral actions in enclosed or semi-enclosed seas such as in the Aegean and the Mediterranean,' Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that 'international maritime law encourages cooperation between coastal states in the seas in question, including concerning environmental issues, and that in this context, our country is always ready to cooperate with Greece in the Aegean Sea.'
Greece's Foreign Ministry said the Maritime Spatial Planning was separate from the delineation of the exclusive economic zone. In a series of explanatory notes posted on its website, the Foreign Ministry said it still aimed to maintain dialogue with Turkey.
'That we're solving pending issues from the past doesn't mean we don't seek Greek-Turkish dialogue. That we disagree doesn't mean that we don't talk,' the ministry said. 'Greece wants a positive climate in relations with Turkey.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hypebeast
17 minutes ago
- Hypebeast
Casablanca's First-Ever Store Is a Colorful Parisian Boutique
Parisian luxury labelCasablancahas opened its inaugural physical boutique with the opening of its colorful store on 62 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. NeighboringComme des GarçonsandHermès, the 2018-born label inaugurates its public-facing presence in the historic fashion capital, representing a new generation of Gen Z-focused luxury labels. Cast in a palette of blue, red, and green, he 5,000 sq ft store spans three levels and centers on a deconstructed tennis court inspired by architectCarlos Scarpa, according toWWD. Much like the eclectic influences of the label's North African heritage, the design draws from varied Japanese and Greek aesthetics, as well as the sport of tennis. The sleek space features Carrara marble mosaic floors, a futuristic illuminated ceiling, velvet finishes, and high-gloss lacquered wood applications. The lower floor is blanketed by a plush green carpet that extends to the walls, where transparent product displays reside, evocative of the clean modernism recently popularized by Apple TV'sSeverance. Elsewhere, arched niches and wall moldings are placed throughout the perimeter, rooting the space back in heritage with a mixture of traditional Parisian design elements. Following the opening of its inaugural Paris boutique, Casablanca will ready its Beverly Hills store, slated to open in that the brand aims to open more stores in cities including New York, Miami, London, Milan, and Dubai. See the gallery above for a closer look at the new space.
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Colombian presidential candidate in a critical condition following assassination attempt
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Miguel Uribe, a conservative Colombian presidential hopeful, was in critical condition on Monday after being shot in the head from close range during a rally at the weekend. In a statement, doctors said the 39-year-old senator had 'barely' responded to medical interventions, that included brain surgery, following the assassination attempt that has had a chilling effect on the South American nation. Uribe was shot on Saturday as he addressed a small crowd of people who had gathered in a park in Bogota's Modelia neighborhood. On Sunday hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital where Uribe is being treated to pray for his recovery. Some carried rosaries in their hands, while others chanted slogans against President Gustavo Petro. 'This is terrible' said Walter Jimenez a lawyer who showed up outside the hospital, with a sign calling for Petro's removal. 'It feels like we are going back to the 1990's,' he said, referring to a decade during which drug cartels and rebel groups murdered judges, presidential candidates and journalists with impunity. Petro has condemned the attack and urged his opponents to not use it for political ends. But some Colombians have also asked the president to tone down his rhetoric against opposition leaders. The assassination attempt has stunned the nation, with many politicians describing it as the latest sign of how security has deteriorated in Colombia, where the government is struggling to control violence in rural and urban areas, despite a 2016 peace deal with the nation's largest rebel group. The attack on Uribe comes amid growing animosity between Petro and the Senate over blocked reforms to the nation's labor laws. Petro has organized protests in favor of the reforms, where he has delivered fiery speeches referring to opposition leaders as 'oligarchs' and 'enemies of the people." 'There is no way to argue that the president… who describes his opponents as enemies of the people, paramilitaries and assassins has no responsibility in this' Andres Mejia, a prominent political analyst, wrote on X. The Attorney General's office said a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene of the attack against Uribe. Videos captured on social media show a suspect shooting at Uribe from close range. The suspect was injured in the leg and was recovering at another clinic, authorities said. Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez added that over 100 officers are investigating the attack. On Monday, Colombia's Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo said that minors in Colombia face sentences of up to eight years in detention for committing murders. Camargo acknowledged that lenient sentences have encouraged armed groups to recruit minors to commit crimes. However, she said that Colombian law also considers that minors who are recruited by armed groups are victims, and is trying to protect them. 'As a society we need to reflect on why a minor is getting caught up in a network of assassins, and what we can do to stop this from happening in the future' she said.
New York Post
24 minutes ago
- New York Post
Elite universities offer to spend more endowment cash to stave off tax hit after Trump attacks ‘woke' policies: report
Some of the richest universities in the US are proposing a deal with the federal government that would allow them to spend more of their own money in exchange for a reprieve on a proposed tax on their endowments, according to a report. Nearly two dozen elite schools — including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Duke and the University of Chicago — are backing a plan that would commit them to distributing at least 5% of their endowment value each year. In return, they're asking Congress to scale back a proposed 21% tax on their investment income, a massive jump from the current 1.4% rate, the Wall Street Journal reported. Advertisement 4 Students walk on the Stanford University campus in this 2019 file photo. AP The White House has framed the tax hike as a way to hold 'woke, elitist universities' accountable. President Trump has launched an aggressive campaign against elite universities, accusing them of hoarding tax-advantaged wealth, embracing 'woke' politics and defying federal law. His administration has moved to revoke their tax-exempt status, block access to federal research grants, and restrict international student enrollment — turning once-reliable sources of funding into pressure points. Advertisement The schools, which are part of a group called the Learn Alliance, circulated a proposal on Capitol Hill that outlines a compromise. They'll increase annual spending on things like financial aid and research, and in exchange, they're asking lawmakers to scrap the House-passed tiered tax system in favor of a much lower flat rate — either 2.4% or 3.4% on investment income. 'What I hear from Republican members of Congress is a desire to ensure that colleges are using their charitable endowments to support today's students and researchers rather than saving too much for the future,' Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber told the Journal. Advertisement 4 Nearly two dozen elite schools — including Harvard — are backing a plan that would commit them to distributing at least 5% of their endowment value each year. AP 'Those are valid concerns, and this proposal directly addresses them.' Eisgruber argued the plan would free up billions of dollars for student-focused spending and local economic development, while a steep tax hike would have the opposite effect — discouraging schools from using their endowments. The Learn Alliance says its plan would generate at least $30 billion in additional spending over a decade. Advertisement That far exceeds the $6.7 billion in federal revenue the current House-endorsed tax is expected to raise during the same time period, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. If adopted, the proposed 5% distribution rule would mark a major shift. Private foundations already follow a 5% payout rule, but colleges and universities have long resisted such mandates, arguing they need flexibility to manage for the long term. The new House bill would also increase the tax on private foundation investment income to 10%, up from the current 1.39%. 'This would be a significant shift in national policy,' Liz Clark, vice president of policy and research at the National Association of College and University Business Officers, told the Journal. 4 The schools, which are part of a group called the Learn Alliance, circulated a proposal on Capitol Hill that outlines a compromise. Yale is one of the members of the alliance. Shutterstock She added that schools are under unusual pressure in the current political climate to show they're putting their money to work. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee and frequent critic of large endowments, said Thursday that lawmakers were only beginning to dig into the endowment tax issue. Advertisement 'I've heard from small colleges in Iowa who say these tax increases would hit them hard,' he said. According to a recent analysis by higher education research group Ithaka S+R, most schools that would fall under the proposed 21% tax rate currently distribute less than 5% of their endowments annually. 4 The image above shows Blair Hall on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, NJ. LightRocket via Getty Images Over a five-year period ending in June 2023, the report found that several top universities failed to meet the 5% mark in most years. Advertisement 'Even small percentage increases in spending would translate to a significant jump in dollar terms because the endowments are so large,' said Catharine Bond Hill, an economist at Ithaka. Not all schools are taking the same approach. A group of smaller colleges is lobbying Congress to cap the investment tax at 1.4% for institutions with fewer than 5,000 full-time students. These schools, which lack the diversified funding sources of larger institutions, say the higher rates would hit them disproportionately hard. Meanwhile, another coalition — including Vanderbilt University and Washington University in St. Louis — is pushing for a system that rewards schools with tax breaks if they meet certain benchmarks, like enrolling a higher percentage of low-income students.
