The second meeting of Turkey-EU High Level Energy Dialogue took place on 28 January 2016 with the participation of the European Commissioner for EU Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete and Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak. The first meeting of this High Level Energy Dialogue was held on 16 March 2015 which paved the way for strengthening bilateral relations in the energy sector. The security of energy supplies and the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) were the main topics of the agenda of the second meeting.

As it is known, as the biggest project on natural gas pipeline in Turkey’s history, TANAP constitute an important pillar of the Southern Gas Corridor which is an important instrument for the EU in terms of energy diversification. It is foreseen that TANAP will transmit around 16 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year of which 10 billion cubic metres will be destined to the EU.

During the meeting, EU and Turkish representatives discussed the integration of Turkish energy market to the EU, energy efficiency, renewable energy, electricity market and network connectivity, nuclear safety as well as the ways to tackle the climate change and the developments in the aftermath of the COP 21.

It is important to underline that the Turkish and EU authorities discussed the opening of the chapter on Energy to negotiations for further progress in Turkey’s EU accession process. Since the accession negotiations are of a key importance for Turkey-EU relations, the main potential of the cooperation in the field of energy between the parties can only be fulfilled with the opening of the chapter on Energy to negotiations.

Furthermore, it is also of a great importance that the Turkey-EU High Level Dialogue should not only focus on the energy supply security but also to energy efficiency, nuclear safety, renewable energy and the liberalisation of energy markets in accordance with the multidimensional nature of the energy policy.