Photo: Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia

Treaty on delimitation of the exclusive economic zone between Croatia and Italy has been signed during the Meeting of the Coordinating Committee of Croatian and Italian Ministers held in Rome on May 24th 2022. This agreement determines the lines of delimitation of the exclusive economic zone in accordance with international law.
As stated in the Act on proclamation of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Croatia in the Adriatic Sea of February 5th 2021 , the outer limit of the exclusive economic zone is provisionally arranged on the basis of the delimitation of the continental shelf established by the Treaty of 1968 between SFRY and Republic of Italy on the delimitation of the continental shelf between the two States in the Adriatic Sea and by the Arrangement of 2005 between Governments of Croatia and Italy on precise determination of the lines of delimitation of the continental shelf of Croatia and Italy.
The outer limit of the exclusive economic zone is definetly arranged by this new Rome treaty, thus confirming the existing line of delimitation. By signing this Treaty, Croatia and Italy have shown readiness to cooperate in regard to the Adriatic Sea, especially in the field of protection of the marine environment and exploitation of its natural resources.
There is still to wait the signing of the treaty on delimitation with Montenegro, hopefully with the more favorable outcome for Croatia in comparison with the Treaty of 2002 on the provisional lines of delimitation.