THE ONLY REALISTIC OPTION FOR A RUSSIAN GAS-FREE EU: TÜRKİYE ROUTE

Abstract

After USA, (with around 400-bcma annual consumption levels) EU is the second largest gas consumer in the World. Due to having lack of enough domestic reserves, EU has to import nearly %70 of this volume and the biggest import partner is Russia (with around %45 import dependency in gas).In fact, the dependence on Russian natural gas for EU countries goes back before the EU was established. Natural gas, which is a much more practical and cleaner energy type, has been imported from Russia by many EU countries for many years, without hindering the industrialization and growth targets. On the other hand, since the Cold War period, especially with the diplomatic spurts of the USA, the EU has been trying to create markets that abstain from Russian gas. However, since they know that the Russian gas will be the cheapest, easiest to access and safest gas regarding with the supply route (generally sustainable), an effective policy cannot be carried out in this context. Moreover, we have to note that, the nature of the gas markets, which requires giant investments and climate-related policies, also affects the decisions to be made within this regard.