Brussels, 29/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - The launch of the EU-Turkey high-level energy dialogue in Istanbul on Thursday 28 January will provide fresh impetus to the energy cooperation between the European Union and a key transit partner in the Middle Eastern region and will bring mutually beneficial projects, said Energy and Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete following the meeting. Ankara reaffirmed its commitment to the southern gas corridor.
On Thursday, discussions between Canete and his host, Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, ranged over all aspects of bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, from integrating the Turkish energy market in the EU internal market and interconnections to negotiations on Turkey's accession to the EU and the opening of the chapter on energy, along with cooperation on energy efficiency and renewables, climate change and nuclear safety and energy cooperation in the eastern Mediterranean.
Central to the discussions, of course, were gas markets, development of the southern gas corridor - to carry gas from the Caspian Sea and Central Asia through Turkey to south-east Europe with possible extension to Middle Eastern and eastern Mediterranean reserves - and the TransAnatolian gas pipeline project.
Both parties underlined the importance of Turkey as a key country for EU's energy security and as a regional energy hub, and they re-affirmed their joint commitment to the successful implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor, “timely completion (of which) is critical so as to allow gas flowing to Europe by 2020”, they stated. Turkey promised to “continue to play an active role” in the southern gas corridor advisory council which will convene for a second meeting “shortly”.
Canete and Albayrak also discussed the availability of natural gas resources in the Caspian region and agreed to continue discussions in order to ensure additional Caspian gas capacity into the southern gas corridor. They also discussed the prospects for transporting the additional regional sources and Turkey said it was “ready to fulfil its responsibilities in terms of contributing to EU's security of supply through various pipeline and interconnection projects”. The EU and Turkey also discussed working together more closely in order to optimise natural gas supply to Turkey and through Turkey to the EU and improve storage and LNG capacity.
In the area of electricity, Canete and Albayrak welcomed the agreement signed in mid-January between the Turkish national transmission system operator TEIAS and the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity ENTSO-E, by which TEIAS became the first observer member of ENTSO-E.
On climate issues, the two sides discussed the international agreement reached at COP 21 in Paris in December 2015 and the policies to implement it.
In addition, they took note of the progress being made in the process of Turkey's accession to the EU. Canete explained that the European Commission is currently screening the alignment of Turkish energy legislation with that of the EU and reiterated the Commission's commitment to complete this preparatory work in the first quarter of 2016. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)