European Energy Supply Security and Turkey: Oil, Natural Gas and Integration

Abstract

Growing dependence of the EU on oil and natural gas imports due to its rising consumption and decreasing production comes out as a security problem. Hence, finding an answer to the question of “how and from where will the EU procure its energy demand?” is a challenging initiative. Turkey might have a special role to balance the rising energy dependence of the EU given that it takes place at the very middle of the World’s richest oil and natural gas sources found in the Middle East, North Africa, Eurasia and the Caspian Basin. This geopolitical feature facilitates a mutual cooperation process to be developed between Turkey and the EU in the energy field. As to the structure of this study; it, firstly, elaborates the EU’s supply security policy and its reflections to Turkey in the Post-Cold War Era. It then focuses on the EU’s consumption and production of oil and natural gas, institutional arrangements and prospective projects for the supply security. Finally it examines Turkey’s current and future role in this policy to conclude that cooperation in energy will support European security and accelerate Turkey’s integration process with the EU.

Keywords

Turkey, EU, Energy, Oil, Natural Gas.

Citation

Ayhan, Veysel, “European Energy Supply Security and Turkey: Oil, Natural Gas and Integration”, International Relations, Volume 5, Issue 20 (Winter 2009), pp. 155-178.

Affiliations

• Veysel Ayhan, Assoc. Prof. Dr., Abant Izzet Baysal University, Department of International Relations