scholarly journals The Effect of European Integration on Swiss Energy Policy and Governance

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Adrianus Van Baal ◽  
Matthias Finger
Keyword(s):  
Energy Policy ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Network Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Consumer Empowerment ◽  
Historical Developments ◽  
Energy Relations ◽  
Governance Processes ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Energy Package

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.

scholarly journals Determinants of the EU Citizens’ Attitudes towards the European Energy Union Priorities

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 5237
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Janik ◽  
Adam Ryszko ◽  
Marek Szafraniec
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Energy Prices ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Energy Union ◽  
Citizens Attitudes ◽  
The Eu

The European Union has adopted very ambitious climate and energy goals for the coming years. The key prerequisite to successfully achieve these goals seems to be extensive support and adequate commitment of the member states and their citizens to the implementation of the clean energy transition and climate neutrality measures. Therefore, this study presents a comprehensive analysis aiming to identify the factors determining the EU citizens’ attitudes towards the European Energy Union priorities. The analysis was based on representative data obtained from residents of twenty-seven EU countries using a Eurobarometer survey. The collected data were subjected to a comparative analysis and binary logistic regression. The research results demonstrated that the support for specific energy policy priorities varies significantly depending on different perceptions of the EU citizens and was affected by a number of demographic variables. It was indicated that perceiving the environment, climate and energy as the most important issues from the perspective of an individual, a country and the EU significantly affects attitudes towards energy policy priorities. However, this mostly concerned the awareness of the importance of these issues at the EU level. Individuals who supported a common energy policy among the EU member states were more likely to point to green energy priorities, whereas guaranteeing low energy prices for companies and consumers seemed less important for them. It was remarkable that the reduction of energy consumption was indicated as an energy policy priority by respondents expecting both more and less decision-making at the European level in the field of environmental protection. People with a right-wing orientation were the most likely to support the competitiveness of the EU’s industry, while individuals with a leftist ideology showed the strongest tendency to opt for environmental protection. Furthermore, gender, occupation and the place and country of residence emerged as very important determinants of attitudes towards the European Energy Union priorities, whereas age and the educational level were predictors in very few cases only.

scholarly journals RUSSIA’S ENERGY EXPANSIONISM ON THE EXAMPLE OF NORD STREAM 2 IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Main Tool ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Nord Stream ◽  
Energy Relations ◽  
The Eu

The modern world depends on energy, the consumption of which is increasing, while the use of resources is becoming more and more intensive. It should be noted that imperialist Russia makes excellent use of this opportunity, which is reflected in the expansion and strengthening of its sphere of political influence. As we know, all states hold energy policies based on national-strategic values and define national aspirations and priorities. Russia has a big amount of energy resources, which it uses quite purposefully. The main tool of the Kremlin’s expansionist policy is energy policy, which opposes European integration and increases its own role in the international arena. Despite the fundamental radical differences between the democratic West and undemocratic Russia, they still manage to find common preventive-cooperative relations in terms of energy policy. A clear example of this is the energy relations between Russia and Germany, which are complex and perennial. The Nord Stream 2 is a project of global importance that explicitly increases the EU’s energy dependence on Russia, which may not prove as beneficial to the Brussels side as it may do to the Moscow side. Both Putin and his governance system are using their country’s resources and geopolitics “dishonestly” to exercise considerable influence on political space around them, serving the national interests of Russia. Therefore, in the eyes of the developed West, Russia is perceived as an aggressor and an undemocratic country, which creates a negative political landscape for both the European Union and the international political arena. That is why such maneuvering of Russia is not positively understood by any of the powerful states of the world, as this very project is found to be an integral part of world politics. The United States also supports this view. The Nord Stream 2, followed by Brexit, is the first international project and it is literally a dynamic action on how the energy relations between the EU and Russia can be continued. At the current stage, Germany’s political actions are more profitable and productive for Russia than for the EU, since this case carries the potential for the energy sector of the two parties to become more integrated.

scholarly journals Confronting Energy Poverty in Europe: A Research and Policy Agenda

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 858
Author(s):  
Stefan Bouzarovski ◽  
Harriet Thomson ◽  
Marine Cornelis
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Energy Poverty ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Multiple Strategies ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Research And Policy ◽  
The Eu

This paper scrutinizes existing policy efforts to address energy poverty at the governance scale of the European Union (EU) and its constituent Member States. Our main starting point is the recent expansion of energy poverty policies at the EU level, fuelled by the regulatory provisions of the Clean Energy for all Europeans Package, as well as the establishment of an EU Energy Poverty Observatory. Aided by a systematic and customized methodology, we survey the extensive scientific body of work that has recently been published on the topic, as well as the multiple strategies and measures to address energy poverty that have been formulated across the EU. This includes the principal mitigation approaches adopted by key European and national institutions. We develop a framework to judge the distributional and procedural justice provisions within the recently adopted National Energy and Climate Plans, as an indicator of the power, ability and resolve of relevant institutions to combat the causes and consequences of energy injustice. We also provide a research and policy agenda for future action, highlighting a series of scientific and decision-making challenges in the European and global context.

TRENDS IN THE FORMATION OF POLAND'S ENERGY POLICY IN THE FUEL AND ENERGY SECTOR OF THE EU COUNTRIES

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (11) ◽  
pp. 167-173
Author(s):  
Mihail V. Rybin ◽  
◽  
Alexander A. Stepanov ◽  
Nadezhda V. Morozova ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Regional Programs ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Fuel And Energy Sector

The article reveals and analyzes conceptual approaches to the formation of strategic directions of energy policy of the European Union and Poland in the first decades of the XXI century. A critical assess-ment is given from the point of view of international cooperation in the field of energy between the Russian Federation, Poland and the EU as a whole and, in particular, European, national and regional programs for the transformation of the fuel and energy sector in the conditions of decarbonization and transition to green energy.

Climate Change Law and Policy in the European Union

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanja Bogojević
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Geological Storage ◽  
Passenger Cars ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Change Framework ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Energy Package

This chapter is concerned with EU’s climate change law and its impact on climate change action at a global level. It investigates whether the international climate change regime ‘tightens’ its own standards so as to match EU climate change law. The corpus of EU climate change law is codified in the Climate and Energy Package, which aims to provide a comprehensive and integrated climate change framework. It includes measures promoting the use of renewable energy, specifying and thus helping to monitor and reduce greenhouse gases from fuel, setting standards for new passenger cars, establishing a framework for the geological storage of carbon dioxide, outlining the effort of Member States to reduce greenhouse gases to meet the 2020 commitments, as well as revising the EU emissions trading regime (ETS).

The Sustainability Strategy of the European Union

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-339
Author(s):  
Ursula Prall
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Direct Consequence ◽  
Climate Protection ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Sustainability Strategy ◽  
General Part ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThe article focuses on the EU Sustainability Strategy of 2001, which was reviewed in 2005; and its elements and implementation concerning energy policy and climate protection. The examination of the general part of the EU Sustainability Strategy shows that it lacks both a mission statement and a clear conceptual approach, thus making it difficult to achieve a steering effect. Those parts of the strategy that deal with climate protection show a strong sense of urgency and a great commitment to the EU objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But the - manifold! - measures taken are still too weak. More determination and more effort is necessary to change patterns of thought and behaviour, and it seems that this is a direct consequence of neglecting the necessity of defining a mission statement and a conceptual approach.

BETWEEN SPLENDID ISOLATION AND TENTATIVE IMPERIALISM: THE EU'S EXTENSION OF ITS EMISSION TRADING SCHEME TO INTERNATIONAL AVIATION AND THE ECJ'S JUDGMENT IN THE ATA CASE

2012 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 977-991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Gattini
Keyword(s):  
Emission Trading ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Emission Trading Scheme ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
Strategic Issue ◽  
Trading Scheme ◽  
Splendid Isolation ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Energy Package

For the last 15 years the European Union (EU) has been particularly active, both internally and internationally, in the fight against global warming, and it is determined to continue to play a global leadership role in this strategic issue. Among the various market-based measures decided upon, the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) for energy-intensive industrial sectors has been rightly described as the ‘flagship of the EU climate policy’.1 Even before proceeding to a general overhauling of Directive 2003/87 in the framework of the 2009 Climate and Energy package, the EU had decided to modify the Directive by including aviation activities in the ETS. Directive 2008/1012 provides that all flights from whichever aircraft operator taking off from or landing in the EU territory will be subjected to the ETS from 1 January 2012. For the year 2012 97 per cent of all emissions allowances will be freely assigned, from 2013 the amount will decrease to 95 per cent, whereas 15 per cent of all allowances will be auctioned. In reality the percentage of free allowances is much lower, about 60 per cent, because it takes as parameter the historical aviation emissions of the years 2004–06, when the air traffic was 40 per cent lower than it is now. The idea underlying the Directive is that aircraft operators will either purchase the necessary allowances in the market or will try to reduce their emissions by using bio-fuels (or else reducing the number of flights), with the second option becoming more economically attractive over time.

scholarly journals BILATERAL TRADE AND ENERGY RELATIONS BETWEEN THE EU AND THE COUNTRIES OF THE CASPIAN SEA REGION

2020 ◽  
pp. 47-64
Author(s):  
Evangelos Siskos ◽  
Konstantia DARVIDOU
Keyword(s):  
Bilateral Trade ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Caspian Sea ◽  
Trade Relations ◽  
Energy Trade ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Main Component ◽  
Structure Of Trade ◽  
Energy Relations ◽  
The Eu

The European Union and the Caspian countries are important trade partners, although there is still potential for improvement of the cooperation considering the energy security and other issues. The paper analyses trends and structure of trade relations of the EU and Caspian countries. The trade between the regions is about 370 billion dollars. Exports of fuels to the EU are the main component of the trade between the regions. Therefore energy transportation projects are an important issue in the agenda for the international relations. A gravity model for the exports of fuels is presented. The model considers demand in the EU importing country, total fuel exports of an exporting Caspian country as an indicator of exporting supply capacities and in some cases energy self-sufficiency of an importing country. Distance turned out to make an insignificant effect on the energy trade. The analysis helps to determine undertraded and successfully exploited bilateral energy trade links between the individual EU and Caspian countries. The model showed that Greece is among the most relatively intensive importers of fuels from the Caspian region. JEL: F10, F13, F15, Q4.

scholarly journals The Policy of Renewable Energy Sources in the Function of the Environmental Protection in the EU

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-353
Author(s):  
Dejan Ž. Đorđević ◽  
Milan Veselinović
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Effective Response ◽  
Total Energy Balance ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThe policy of renewable energy sources has gained more importance over recent years. The European Union is facing serious challenges regarding greenhouse gas emissions and energy sustainability, followed by the supply security, import dependence and competitiveness as well as the effective implementation of the internal energy market. The energy policy of the European Union is the most effective response to the new situation the member states of the European Union are facing. The EU energy policy aims to cause a new industrial revolution and the growth of the economic energy efficiency with low emissions of carbon dioxide. In order to achieve this, targets have been set for the future. Among them is the increase in the share of production and consumption of renewable energy in the total energy balance.

scholarly journals THE EUROPEAN UNION, INDONESIA, AND THE RENEWABLE ENERGY DIRECTIVE

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-40
Author(s):  
Rosario J Taa ◽  
Karinda Febrinia ◽  
Jhon Jefri Rumbino ◽  
Yoel Parakletos Pandiangan ◽  
Renata Iglesyanna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Environmental Conflict ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Diplomacy ◽  
Energy Diplomacy ◽  
The Eu

This research tries to explain how to overcome the problems that occur in the EU (European Union). The concept used is environmental diplomacy. The concept of environmental diplomacy is used to explain the environmental conflict between the EU and Indonesia. Keywords: EU Clean Energy, Diplomacy, Environment.

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