The central North Sea lies beyond any nation's territorial waters. Four states hold Exclusive Economic Zone rights over the Dogger Bank, and the absence of a single sovereign is not an obstacle. It is the opportunity.
The Legal Basis
The Dogger Bank lies well beyond the 12-nautical-mile territorial waters of any state. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the surrounding nations instead hold Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) rights, extending 200 nautical miles from their coastlines, which grant them authority over economic activities including fishing, energy development, and infrastructure construction, but do not constitute territorial sovereignty.
This is a legally significant distinction. There is no sovereign to displace, no territory to cede. What exists instead is a set of overlapping and adjacent economic rights held by four states, all of which must be engaged, and all of which have strong reasons to participate.
Under UNCLOS Article 60, a state may authorise the construction of artificial islands within its EEZ. Those islands do not themselves generate new territorial seas or EEZ claims. Any governance structure for Nieuw Doggerland must therefore be established by international treaty, not by unilateral act.
The Four Nations
No single nation can authorise Nieuw Doggerland, and none needs to be displaced. Four North Sea states hold the relevant rights, and each has its own reasons to sit at the table.
Primary co-founder. The UK holds the largest EEZ share of the Dogger Bank, encompassing the western and central portions where the world's largest offshore wind farm (Dogger Bank Wind Farm, 3.6+ GW) is already under construction. Any artificial island in the central hub zone requires UK authorisation under UNCLOS. The UK is the western anchor of the land bridge.
Primary co-founder. The Netherlands holds the eastern EEZ share of the Dogger Bank and is the eastern anchor of the land bridge at Rotterdam. The Netherlands has a 500-year track record of large-scale land reclamation (the polders, the Zuiderzee works) and is home to the world’s leading dredging and marine engineering firms. Dutch participation is foundational to both the legal framework and the construction programme.
Junior partner. Germany holds the southeastern EEZ share and was the first of the four states to designate its portion of the Dogger Bank as a Special Area of Conservation (2007). Germany’s Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) already has established governance procedures for the area. German participation is legally required for any comprehensive treaty and brings access to the German North Sea port network.
Junior partner. Denmark holds the northern EEZ boundary of the Dogger Bank. It is the only one of the four states that has not yet designated its Dogger Bank portion as a protected area: a gap that represents both a diplomatic opening and an opportunity to bring Denmark into a shared conservation and governance framework from the outset.
"The UK, the Netherlands, and Germany already operate a joint marine protected area across the Dogger Bank; the institutional machinery for multinational governance exists. Nieuw Doggerland builds on it."
The Treaty Framework
The legal mechanism for Nieuw Doggerland follows the precedent of the Svalbard Treaty (1920), in which Norway received full sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago while all signatory states were granted equal rights of access and economic activity. A similar multinational treaty (with the United Kingdom and Netherlands as primary co-sovereigns, and Germany and Denmark as signatories with defined rights) would establish the legal foundation for construction, governance, and eventual provincial status.
The existing tripartite Special Area of Conservation covering 18,765 km² of the Dogger Bank (designated by UK, Netherlands, and Germany between 2007 and 2012 under the EU Habitats Directive) demonstrates that joint governance of this specific territory is not theoretical. It has been in operation for nearly two decades.
The North Sea Summit Ostend Declaration (April 2023), signed by all relevant EU member states and the United Kingdom, committed the parties to accelerated offshore wind development and North Sea cooperation. This political framework provides the diplomatic context within which a Nieuw Doggerland treaty could be negotiated.
Existing Frameworks
The UK, Netherlands, and Germany have jointly designated 18,765 km² of the Dogger Bank as marine protected areas under the Habitats Directive. The tripartite SAC is the existing institutional precedent for shared governance of this territory. Designated 2007–2012.
All four North Sea states are signatories to the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic. OSPAR provides an existing multilateral environmental governance framework that any Nieuw Doggerland treaty would complement and reinforce.
The April 2023 North Sea Summit (attended by the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and other North Sea states) committed signatories to joint offshore energy development and North Sea cooperation. This is the political moment Nieuw Doggerland is designed to build upon.
Get Involved
Nieuw Doggerland needs diplomats, international lawyers, and government partners across all four North Sea states to turn a shared interest into a shared framework. If you shape policy and treaties, there is a place for you in the Founding Circle.
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