In this developing world, where globalization has taken a leading role, the need for energy is as we all know increasing every day.I am going to talk about the European Union’s new energy policy and its opportunities for investment in Turkey.
In forthcoming years countries will have to find solutions for their supply of energy , if they do not want to face a range of difficulties in that area. On that notion the European Union has increased the search for solutions since the start of the new millennium .Without this , the EU’s objectives in other areas , including the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs and the Millennium Development Goals , will also be more difficult to achieve .
According to Green Paper , the European Union has to find new energy corridors to meet its demand for energy. On that notion, Turkey plays an important role with its geographical location . Turkey is in close geographical proximity to countries possessing more than %70 of proven global gas and oil reserves. Turkey is already a major transit route for oil from Russia and Central Asia to global markets .
From an economical view this new energy policy can also offer a variety of work opportunities. Bringing supplies to the European market and connecting the West to Central-Asia would mean big investment opportunities for a lot of companies. Both gas producers and consumers stand to benefit from these developments. On that account International co-operation on energy security is a win-win outcome for all involved parties.
Some business companies have already evaluated these opportunities of Turkey . I am going to give some examples to show the opportunities in this sector in Turkey .
A project of € 1.07 million (2002) aimed at strengthening the administrative capacity of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) by a Twinning project and supply components.
Assistance has also been provided to the Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Company BOTAS on gas transmission and transit through a service contract of € 1.77 million (2003).
For the connection of Turkey to the EU electricity grid, another project provided complementary technical studies for the synchronisation of the Turkish power system with the UCTE (Union for the Co-ordination of Transmission of Electricity) system (2003). The project had a total budget of € 1.45 million.
A Twinning consortium comprised of ADEME of France and Senter Novem of the Netherlands provided assistance for the improvement of energy efficiency in Turkey (2003). The project budget was € 1.25 million. The Twinning project will be supported by a public awareness project on energy efficiency in buildings. The public awareness project was programmed in 2005 and has a total budget of € 1.07 million.
Following the analysis of this subject we can state that Turkey could really be benefit from this co-operation. But Turkey’s political considerations could be a threshold for her to become an important pawn in the great European energy game. Turkey has to base its energy policy on open, transparent rules and has to focus on its business interests. European investors should support the steps taken by Turkey so that they can also benefit from these opportunities.
