The Role of Switzerland in European Electricity Governance

Abstract

This chapter explores the political influence of Switzerland as a non-EU country in European electricity governance. We argue that the influence of non-EU countries depends on their access to European governance institutions and their structural power resources. We further posit that the type of structural power resources circumscribes the specific areas of influence. The empirical analysis assesses these variables qualitatively based on interview and other primary data. First, it shows that Switzerland has relatively high access to important European governance bodies. Second, it reveals that Switzerland possesses structural power in serving as a European transit hub for electricity and an important source of technical expertise. Third, it confirms our theoretical expectation that Switzerland acts as a shaper in European electricity governance. Swiss influence is especially seen in matters related to grid management and cross-border electricity trade. Limitations to Swiss influence are often rooted in the legal principles of the EU internal market. Our findings qualify claims about a marginalization of Switzerland in European electricity governance. At the same time, we highlight uncertainties resulting from the present lack of an electricity agreement between Switzerland and the EU. Our chapter recommends Swiss policy-makers to strive for viable forms of energy cooperation with the EU and to strengthen the transit function and technical expertise of the country.

Impacts of hot-dry conditions on hydropower production in Switzerland

“…2.1. Data Time series of Swiss HP are extracted from the European Network of Transmission System Operators (TSO) for Electricity (ENTSO-E) Transparency Platform (ENTSOE 2019), an online data platform for the European electricity system that provides data for 42 TSOs, including the Swiss TSO, Swissgrid (Hofmann et al 2022). This data is only available from 2015 onward.…”

Third Country Access to EU Agencies: Exploring Spaces for Influence

“…Horizontal influence occurs when a country's domestic templates are identified as good practice or when its scientific data or other valuable information is retained in decision-making processes. Hofmann et al (2022) document how Swiss expertise and data contributed to the development of electricity trading platforms and the Clean Energy Package (see also Hofmann et al, 2019a). The principle of mutual recognition agreed in certain bilateral agreements and procedures asserting the equivalence of legislation are another source of potentially shared influence that operates via EU agencies.…”

“…16, 67). Hofmann et al (2022, p. 83) report that Switzerland succeeded in having the EU's Electricity Balancing Guideline, which regulates access to European balancing power, address Swiss concerns about unscheduled flows and grid stability.…”

“…Yet analyses of third country influence on EU law and policy‐making are scarce. Considering that ‘Access – whether formal or informal – is a necessary precondition to generate influence’ (Maggetti, 2019, p. 260; Hofmann et al, 2022, p. 70; see also Lavenex and Öberg, this Issue), this article sets out to systematically assess third country access to one specific type of EU institution: decentralised agencies. More specifically, we map the formal rules granting third countries' access to agencies' operations and examine how this differs across time, agencies and countries, and why.…”