Turkey seeks own alternatives

With the issue of securing energy sources at the top of the international community’s agenda,
European Union countries on Thursday and Friday worked to forge a common energy policy during a summit meeting in Brussels.

While agreeing on the importance of having a common energy policy, EU leaders were unable to reach a consensus on the details due to different perceptions of security.

The debate began with a request from the European Commission to open up energy markets and “speak with one voice” as part of a larger effort to cut the bloc’s dependence on imported oil and gas.

While some countries in the Union want to form closer ties with energy suppliers such as Russia, some of them, such as the Baltic states and Poland, are more reluctant about including Moscow in the EU’s energy affairs. Russia’s decision to cut natural gas to Ukraine in January over a pricing dispute seemed to deepen concerns within the ex-communist countries of the EU that Russia could possibly control the European energy sector in the future.

The New Anatolian