European Commission Considers Turkey Key to EU Energy Security

Turkey is a key country for ensuring Europe's energy security, European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete and Turkey's Energy Minister Berat Albayrak said in a joint statement Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The meeting focused on issues including integrating Turkish and EU energy markets, gas market interconnection, the development of the Southern Gas Corridor and its Turkish part, the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP).

"Both sides 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. Its timely completion is critical so as to allow gas flowing to Europe by 2020," the statement, released after Thursday's Turkey-EU High Level Energy Dialogue, said.

Canete and Albayrak discussed gas resources in the Caspian Sea region and possibilities for boosting Caspian gas supplies via the TANAP into Europe, according to the statement. The Turkish side expressed readiness for regional cooperation, providing additional gas supplies and developing pipeline interconnection projects as part of ensuring continued energy supplies to Europe, the statement added.

Possibilities of improving Turkey's liquid natural gas storage facilities as part of optimizing the country's transit strategy were also discussed.

Europe's Southern Gas Corridor aims to bring up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas to the European Union from the Caspian region, the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. A part of Europe's energy route diversification strategy, the corridor's route runs from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas field, through Georgia, Turkey, Greece and Albania into southern Italy.