INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF OFFSHORE ACTIVITIES IN THE ADRIATIC AND IONIAN SEAS

The issue of the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas resources in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas is complex and multiform from a legal point of view since it deals with the high fragmentation of the existing legal framework as well as a number of legal loopholes. On the one hand, a variety of international, European and national rules applying to different national maritime zones and, in some cases, to the high seas, thus regulating the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. On the other hand, the existing rules do not cover all spaces and practice often reveals the inadequacy of the international and national compliance systems. The main critical aspect, however, is the lack of specific provisions to prevent and prosecute major accidents that could potentially be catastrophic for the marine environment. As far as the environmental impact of this activity is concerned, two main aspects are involved: the nature and the extent of the coastal states' powers of exploitation and the related obligations of conservation of the marine environment, on one side, and the prevention of transboundary environmental damage, on the other. Against this complexity, and due to length restrictions, it seems useful to delimit the scope of the present work to some observations regarding the multiple layers of the legal fragmentation, the current state of international cooperation on the protection of the marine environment in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, and the existence of certain security gaps in the offshore platforms regulations. Legal fragmentation implies a high level of legal uncertainty among the activities of exploitation and exploitation of mineral resources and their impact on the marine environment of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. A number of actions could be taken to reduce the fragmentation, such as the proclamation of the EEZs, the harmonisation of rules (approximation of laws) among EU and non- EU members, and the implementation of existing international cooperation tools.