VZCZCXRO6587
RR RUEHAG RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAK #1535 1661312
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151312Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2614
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0968
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 2884
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 2046

UNCLAS ANKARA 001535 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOE FOR CHARLES WASHINGTON 
USDOC FOR 4212/ITA/MAC/CPD/CRUSNAK 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG EPET EINV TU
SUBJECT:  EU-TURKEY ENERGY CONFERENCE - MISSED OPPORTUNITY ON 
TRANSIT 
 
REF: Ankara 1481 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified.  Please handle accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: Expectations for a strong European statement in 
support of Turkey's role in gas transit to Europe were unrealized at 
the June 5 "Turkey and the EU: Together for a European Energy 
Policy" Conference in Istanbul, which was attended by Commissioners 
Rehn and Piebalgs and senior GOT officials.  While there were 
political statements of support for Turkey's EU accession, Turkey's 
critical role in the "southern gas corridor" to Europe was not 
showcased.  End Summary. 
 
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I Luv U - U Luv Me - We're a Happy Family 
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¶2.  (SBU) Nazim Bayraktar from the Energy Regulator EU Relations 
Department described the EU-Turkey energy conference as a political 
love-fest.  A particularly quotable comment was Olli Rehn's 
reference to Turkey's EU accession as music that cannot stop: "it 
can be a quick samba, or it can be a slow waltz."  Turkish chief EU 
negotiator State Minister Ali Babacan said "Turkey will be relegated 
to the status of a third world country" unless it applies EU 
standards of democracy and rule of law. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Bayraktar said that Energy Minister Guler used his speech 
to emphasize energy cooperation, plugging Samsun-Ceyhan, Nabucco and 
other transit projects.  He high-lighted Turkey's desire for access 
to gas transiting its territory at "net-back" prices, so that Turkey 
is assured some quantity of gas at a price equal to that paid by the 
downstream consumer less transportation costs.  Guler often 
complains that the Europeans do not give adequate consideration to 
Turkey's significant and growing gas requirements (ref).  Bayraktar 
also said that exemptions to EU regulations on third party access 
and tariffs were necessary to realize Nabucco, but an 
inter-governmental agreement could facilitate or obviate the 
exemption issue. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In his speech, Energy Deputy Undersecretary Bekir Aksoy 
reportedly said Turkey was continuing to work on legislation aimed 
at advancing Turkey's adoption of the EU energy acquis.  He cited 
electricity sector reform, renewable and energy efficiencies laws, 
and draft petroleum and nuclear laws.  While EU officials applauded 
Turkey's efforts, there was not a commitment on when the energy 
chapter negotiations might be opened. 
 
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Missed Opportunity 
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¶5.  (SBU) UK Embassy energy officer was disappointed, however, that 
EU officials did not take the opportunity to emphasize Turkey's gas 
transit role.  While there was perfunctory mention of gas transit in 
the conference conclusion and a number of speeches, the clear focus 
of the conference proceedings and reporting was on political support 
for Turkey's EU accession.  The UK embassy officer felt that the 
Commission spent too much time hammering Turkey to join the European 
Energy Community Treaty, which Turkey has not signed because it 
wants to take advantage of the accession period to adopt energy and 
environment acquis.  The British diplomat shared a copy of the 
letter from the UK Minister of Europe to the Commission which 
advocated using the conference as a catalyst to increase EU 
engagement with Turkey and the Caspian, in particular Turkmenistan, 
on advancing a trans-Caspian pipeline supplying gas to Europe. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Both our Turkish and European interlocutors see 
a link between Turkey's EU accession and its role as a natural gas 
transit country and seek to play the issues off each other.  The 
Turks argue that the EU should be more welcoming on accession in 
order to obtain Turkey's cooperation on energy, while the Europeans 
see it the other way around.  This zero-sum thinking is clearly 
self-defeating.  We will need to continue to challenge the Europeans 
to be more visible and focused on Central Asia and Caspian -sourced 
gas transiting Turkey to Europe. 
Wilson