A Grant Agreement entered into force between Turkey and the International Bank For Reconstruction and Development ("World Bank") on 19 June 2015. The grant is intended to support development of Turkey's administrative and technical capacity, improving alignment with the EU acquis and Europe 2020 Targets. The Grant Agreement becomes legally binding on Turkey on publication in the Official Gazette. Accordingly, the Turkish Council of Ministers approved the Grant Agreement on 12 October 2015, with a decision published in Official Gazette number 29530 on 12 November 2015.

The Grant Agreement is intended to develop Turkey's administrative and technical capacity of institutions, to support increasing alignment with the EU acquis and Europe 2020 Targets regarding ("Project"):

  • Energy efficiency.
  • Internal energy market.
  • Long-term energy planning and modelling.

In this context, the World Bank is acting as administrator of the European Union Instrument for Pre-Accession Trust Fund, established with funds provided by the European Commission.

Under the Grant Agreement, the World Bank agrees to give Turkey EUR 11,593,021 ("Grant") to assist financing the Project.

The Grant is allocated to the Project as follows:

  • EUR 4,817,097 for Energy Efficiency.
  • EUR 1,533,957 for Electricity and Gas Market Development.
  • EUR 4,771,047 for Long-term Energy Scenarios, Capacity Building and Establishment of an Energy Data Center.
  • EUR 470,920 for Visibility and Public Awareness.

The Project will be implemented by Turkey's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.

The Grant Agreement outlines detailed matters about Project execution, monitoring, reporting and evaluation and procurement, as well as withdrawal of Grant proceeds. It includes mandatory provisions for procurement under bank-financed contracts subject to national competitive bidding.

Please see this link for the full text of the Grant Agreement and the Council of Ministers' approval decision.

Information first published in the MA | Gazette, a fortnightly legal update newsletter produced by Moroğlu Arseven.

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