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6/14/07

ISN Security Watch - Questions cloud Turkish-EU energy cooperation - by Yigal Schleifer

For the complete report from the ISN Security Watch click on this link

Questions cloud Turkish-EU energy cooperation - by Yigal Schleifer

Turkey's strategy of establishing itself as a transit hub for natural resources is a key component of its efforts to join the European Union. At a recent conference in Istanbul aimed at strengthening Turkish-EU energy cooperation, officials from both Brussels and Ankara spoke in glowing terms about the potential for joint activity, while emphasizing Turkey's strategic importance in the energy sphere. "Turkey needs the European Union and the European Union needs Turkey. This is especially true in the field of energy," Andris Piebalgs, the EU's energy commissioner, told the conference's attendants. "Turkey is a link, a bridge, a corridor for our region's energy supplies."

Turkey's chief EU negotiator, Ali Babacan, told the same audience that "energy cooperation will bring us closer and create a situation where Turkey and the EU are stronger in the region."

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