Turkey’s Energy Prospects in the EU-Turkey Context. CEPS EU-Turkey Working Papers No. 9, 1 October 2004

The legislative framework for the energy market in Turkey has been changing rapidly over the last few years with further progress made towards harmonising Turkey’s legislation with the Community’s energy aquis. Yet there are still shortcomings in the functioning of the market, such as the effectiveness of regulation, price trends and loss rates. Moreover, there are still regulatory restrictions on cross-border trading, although the technical preparations to connect the Turkish grid to Europe are advancing well. In all energy sub-sectors, further efforts are needed to guarantee alignment with the acquis. Nevertheless, if the proposed changes – including the privatisation of electricity generation – are fully implemented and cross-border trade is liberalised, Turkey soon may be integrated into the EU’s energy system even in advance of full membership.