The European Commission has opened negotiations with Turkey on the country joining the Energy Community.
 
The Energy Community was set up in 2006 and has seven members from South Eastern Europe.
 
Its stated aims are to create an integrated energy market allowing for cross-border energy trade and linked to the EU market, to enhance the security of supply, attract investment in power generation and networks in order to ensure stable and continuous electricity supply, and improve the environmental situation in relation with energy supply.
 
Current members are Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, and the EU. Ukraine, Moldova, Turkey, Norway and Georgia have observer status, but Turkey, Moldova and Ukraine appear set for full membership.
 
The European Commission said that on September 9 2009, an EC negotiating team met in Vienna with a Turkish delegation.
 
"Turkey is carrying out fundamental reforms in order to address its huge energy challenge. Turkey is well prepared and has an important role to play in the Energy Community. I hope that the negotiations will proceed swiftly and could be concluded in the coming months" European Energy Commissioner Andries Piebalgs said.
 
The EC said that the first negotiating session focused on the progress of reforms in the Turkish energy sector and the related legislative changes for the implementation of the Energy Community Treaty.
 
"The meeting allowed for a comprehensive review of the requirements to be met in relation with the Turkish energy sector policy and reflected the advanced state of reforms in Turkey, in particular in the electricity sector," the EC said.
 
After the signature in Ankara on July 13 2009 of the Intergovernmental Agreement regarding the Nabucco Project, the opening of negotiations concerning Turkey's accession to the Energy Community Treaty represents an important milestone in the EU-Turkey energy co-operation, the EC said.