Turkey is of pivotal importance to the European Union’s energy diversification plans, given its future potential to export renewable energy and green hydrogen to the bloc, a senior official said on Thursday.
Frans Timmermans, European Commission vice-president in charge of the European Green Deal, stressed that cooperation between the EU and Turkey for green transformation was now more important than ever.
"We want to create partnerships ... to create a future hydrogen-based economy where we are not dependent on one or two single suppliers," Timmermans told a press conference following a meeting with Turkey’s Environment Urban Planning and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum.
"Turkey, for all of this, is pivotal. It can only happen if Turkey is also at the center of this."
Countries such as Turkey will begin to produce energy from both wind and solar in incredible amounts, the official said, noting that Turkey would start producing more than it needs.
"Energy will also be exported from thereon. I think that energy storage is very important. Especially with hydrogen, this can be done much easier; hydrogen can be shipped to much further distances," Timmermans said.
"As the EU, we need much more than we will produce ourselves. Especially with the countries in the Mediterranean basin, we need to move to a hydrogen-based economy," he noted.
"At the same time, politically, we need to ensure political stability in the Mediterranean region. Turkey has always been important here."
Green hydrogen source of Europe
Kurum stressed the cooperation on hydrogen as a very important issue, stating that the meeting with Timmermans was productive at the point of increasing cooperation.
Turkey has rich hydrogen resources and has the capacity to meet the needs of EU countries," the minister said.
"We have agreed that the technology here should be improved and the sharing of knowledge and experience should be increased. We will also do our work in this field together with the technical delegations," he added.
"Turkey may be the green hydrogen source of Europe. At this point, we have expressed to them that we can carry out joint work with the European Union."
The meeting came on the sidelines of Timmermans’s trip to Ankara, where he arrived for the latest round of Turkey-EU High-Level Climate Dialogue and to strengthen cooperation on climate.
He thanked Kurum on Twitter for the "fruitful" 2nd EU-Turkey High-Level Climate Dialogue. The first meeting was held in September last year in Brussels.
"We must boost adaptation, increase ambition to keep 1.5 alive and strengthen our cooperation with each other and in the region. I commend Turkey’s commitment to update its NDC before #COP27," Timmermans said.
"Being close partners for the green transformation of our economies matters now more than ever," said Timmermans on Twitter following a meeting with Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Muş.
"Looking forward to Turkey’s next steps to speed up its transition to climate neutrality in 2053," he added.
Timmermans also met with Turkey’s First Lady Emine Erdoğan.
Sharing pictures from their talks on Twitter, the EU diplomat said Erdoğan’s "work on zero waste makes her a true champion for the environment, and who helps lead Turkey’s climate ambition."
The first lady and Timmermans discussed the importance of Turkish-EU "cooperation to reduce microplastics from textiles and smart farming," he added.
Following a meeting with representatives of Turkish nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Timmermans said on Twitter: "Interesting and inspiring meeting with Turkish climate and energy NGO’s who play an essential role in the green transition."
"Building on Turkey’s 2053 net-zero commitment, it is now important to focus on the policies to get there," he added.
On Wednesday, Timmermans met Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and discussed regional developments, Ukraine, energy, and climate change.
After the meeting, the EU official took to Twitter, stating: "We agreed on the importance of EU-Turkey relations and the relevance of cooperation, also in the Mediterranean, on climate action and an accelerated energy transition."