ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT IN TURKISH-BULGARIAN RELATIONS

OpenAlex · English

This paper focuses on the changing role of energy and environment in TurkishBulgarian relations since the second half of the 2010s. The energy ties between the twocountries strengthened since then after reaching at least two critical milestones. The first is thesynchronous integration of Turkey’s electricity grid to the EU power transmission network,and the second is the TurkStream natural gas pipeline that extends towards Bulgaria. Thesetwo crucial developments necessitated Turkey’s energy laws to be in harmony with the EUregulations. On the other hand, Turkey’s environmental policies are not fully harmonious withthe EU policies and rules, and bilateral environmental relations remain relatively immature.This paper aims to analyze the main aspects of the energy, environment, and water policiesin Turkish-Bulgarian relations and identify reasons for the challenges in the issue areas in theregional environment. The main research question of the paper is whether the main weaknessesin the implementation of environmental sustainability policies are related to governance issuesin the countries. To answer this question, this paper compares the three aspects of Turkey’senergy and environment relations with Bulgaria, i.e., natural gas trade, electricity trade,transboundary rivers. The methods used include examining fundamental laws, regulations,documents, and reports of the energy and environment regulators. The authors investigate theperceptions and opinions of the people, politicians, media, civil society, and political partiesabout energy trade and transboundary water issues. The paper argues that joint transboundaryinitiatives, strong incentives for cooperation, and the existing regulations in place sincethe early 2010s are insufficient to successfully implement environmental policies. Instead,government effectiveness is crucial for achieving a sustainable regional environment.