The Effect of European Integration on Swiss Energy Policy and Governance

Abstract

The unique “Swiss way” of association with the European Union (EU) has received increasing attention in light of recent events such as Brexit as it is based on sectoral agreements without an overarching institutional framework. As such, Europeanization of Swiss domestic policy does not follow a straightforward process. We examine the external governance processes that drive the Europeanization of Swiss energy policy. Switzerland and the EU are highly interdependent in energy due to Switzerland’s geographical position but there is a relatively low level of policy alignment, as there is no formal EU-Swiss energy agreement nor has Switzerland autonomously implemented legislation equivalent to the EU energy acquis. The EU has fully liberalized the energy market and is focusing on consumer empowerment and decarbonization through the Clean Energy Package, whereas the Swiss energy sector remains only partially liberalized. Through a series of expert interviews with key stakeholders, we reconstruct the historical developments in Swiss energy policy, focusing on the relationship with, and the influence of the EU. We observe elements of each of the three ideal modes of governance—markets, hierarchies, and networks. The relative importance of these modes of coordination in governing EU-Swiss energy relations has shifted considerably over time. Gradual harmonization of EU energy markets and certain key events have driven Swiss exclusion from EU network governance processes, leading to more hierarchy. We identify the strengths and weaknesses of each mode of governance for EU-Swiss energy relations in their historical setting and discuss the implications for energy policy in Switzerland in the context of the Clean Energy Package and EU external relations in general.

Following, Challenging, or Shaping: Can Third Countries Influence EU Energy Policy?

“…In sum, Switzerland finds itself at a crossroads: The (non-)conclusion of an institutional and an electricity agreement with the EU will affect its European market integration as well as its ability to shape EU energy policy (cf. also van Baal and Finger, 2019, in this issue).…”

National Policies, Recent Research Hotspots, and Application of Sustainable Energy: Case of China, USA, and European Countries

“…However, as a non-EU country, Switzerland has different forms of cooperation in energy policy. Baal and Finger illustrated that, although Switzerland and the EU are highly interdependent in terms of energy due to geographical reasons, the level of policy coordination is relatively low because there is no formal EU-Swiss energy agreement [60]. The contemporary Swiss energy policy focuses on the 2050 Energy Strategy (ES50) [60].…”

Informal Europeanization processes and domestic governance networks

“…In line with a European orientation towards more integration, EU-level actors like the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER), the European association for the cooperation of transmission system operators (TSOs) for electricity (ENTSO-E), or the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) gained in importance (Maggetti, 2013) in an area in which especially ACER works towards a single European market (Eser et al, 2018). Switzerland is indeed confronted with an increasingly integrated European energy system while Swiss energy policy becomes more and more side-lined and excluded from crucial coordinating platforms, not least also due to national level decisions opposing more EU integration (van Baal & Finger, 2019;Hofmann et al, 2019). With the deepening of EU integration in regard to energy issues (Solorio, 2011), that is, the increasingly important role of the EU in energy matters replacing former rather informal bi-or multi-national cooperation, the participation of Switzerland to EU decision making processes becomes increasingly challenging.…”