EU Pledge Challenges Unlawful Strait Tolls

A charge imposed at a narrow stretch of sea can carry consequences far beyond its coastline. That concern underpins a European Union-led pledge opposing unlawful tolls and restrictions on passage through straits used for international navigation. Announced by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on 12 October, the initiative now has the backing of all EU member states and 34 other countries, according to the European External Action Service’s updated list.

The “No Fees/No Tolls” pledge targets measures that obstruct lawful navigation, including discriminatory restrictions, prior authorisation requirements and unlawful charges. Supporters include major trading economies such as Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom, alongside Bahrain and Oman. The declaration warns that disruption at strategic waterways can affect energy supplies, international commerce and food security. Its central concern is precedent: restrictions accepted in one strait could weaken confidence in the rules governing passage elsewhere.

Those rules already exist under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Article 44 requires states bordering straits covered by the transit-passage regime not to hamper that passage or suspend it. Coastal governments retain specified regulatory powers, including over navigational safety and pollution, but Article 42 prevents their rules from discriminating between foreign ships or effectively denying or impairing transit. The legal distinction is between managing navigation within the convention’s framework and using control of a waterway to obstruct an established right.

The pledge adds a collective diplomatic commitment to that framework, rather than creating a new toll prohibition or enforcement body. Participants promise cooperation through maritime institutions, particularly the International Maritime Organization, and support defensive, non-escalatory initiatives protecting navigation. Its practical value will depend on how consistently governments defend those commitments when passage is challenged. For shipping operators and the businesses relying on their cargoes, the immediate objective is predictability across essential international routes.