European Energy Association (EEA) and Turkey's Regional “Energy Hub” Possibility: Opportunities and Challenges
European Union Commission declared its vision on European Energy Association EEA including comprehensive changes on energy strategy about energy cooperation and climate changes, as well as conversion and its multi-dimensional cooperation objectives with its report European Commission, Energy Union Package, COM 2015-80. Current cost of energy to the European Union damages its competitiveness in the international market due to its high dependence on energy supply. EU will play an active role in the international energy market with EEA on both energy dependence and on energy supply security. Only four countries are listed on the EEA vision document among alternative producers, cooperation with transit countries and strategic partners: Algeria, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Turkey. Due to its geo-strategic location Turkey is the most affordable and reliable energy transit route between Central Asia and Europe. In this study Turkey’s place as a strategic transit country and its partnership in TAP/TANAP projects as well as its possibility to become a regional energy hub and an oil corridor in the East-West route will be discussed in detail as it is stated in EEA vision document. In this context, possibilities, challenges and related macro-economic policies will be evaluated.