Libya's House of Representatives approved the maritime boundary memorandum with Turkey on Tuesday 20 October, reversing its previous opposition to the 2019 agreement.
The vote took place during a closed session in Benghazi. Parliamentary spokesman Abdullah Blihaq announced that approval was unanimous, according to the Libyan News Agency, LANA.
Alongside approving the maritime memorandum, MPs revoked two decisions adopted in 2020. The first had rejected ratification of the maritime and military cooperation memoranda signed by Ankara and the then government in Tripoli. The second had called for political relations with Turkey to be severed.
From rejection to approval
The development carries particular political significance because it comes from the parliament in eastern Libya, which had opposed the agreement. The country remains divided between rival administrations, while Turkey supported the government in western Libya against Khalifa Haftar's forces.
MP Tarek al-Jeroushi told Reuters that the agreement strengthens Libya's position as a political, military and economic partner. MP Aisha al-Tabalqi said specialist committees had presented a detailed explanation of its provisions before the vote.
The Foreign Ministry of the Government of National Unity in Tripoli also welcomed the decision. It described it as a positive development for bilateral relations and cooperation with Turkey.
Why the agreement matters to Greece
The memorandum was signed on 27 November 2019 by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Fayez al-Sarraj, then head of Libya's Government of National Accord.
It draws a maritime boundary between Turkey and Libya without giving Greek islands their claimed effect on maritime zones. As Deutsche Welle notes, the agreement prompted objections from Greece, Cyprus and Egypt, which disputed its legality.
The dispute is linked to rights to explore for and exploit energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean.
Approval does not remove European objections
The new decision strengthens political support for the memorandum within Libya. It does not, however, amount to international acceptance of the boundary it describes.
The European Union has formally stated that the Turkey–Libya memorandum infringes the sovereign rights of third states, does not comply with the law of the sea and cannot produce legal consequences for third states.
That European position concerns the substance of the agreement, rather than simply its previous lack of approval by the Libyan parliament.
