External Publication
A new strategy for EU-Turkey energy cooperation
Cooperation over energy and climate issues could be one of the components of the EU-Turkey Positive Agenda. Simone Tagliapietra proposes a new strategy for EU-Turkey energy cooperation, which envisions a shift of focus from gas and electricity to fields such as renewables and nuclear energy.
This article was published in the Turkish Policy Quarterly, Vol. 17, No 3 (Fall 2018).
Energy cooperation could be one of the few components of the EU-Turkey Positive Agenda, as strong mutual interests encourage cooperation even during politically difficult times. However, the energy part of the Positive Agenda arguably requires a rethink. Over the last decades, gas and electricity have represented the main components of this cooperation. Albeit highly visible, cooperation in these fields appears to be limited in practice. On the contrary, cooperation in other fields – such as renewables, energy efficiency, nuclear energy and emission trading – could make a real impact on long-term energy, climate, and environmental sustainability, and on overall macroeconomic and geopolitical stability. This article discusses how this change in priorities might be designed.