The electricity high voltage transmission networks are interconnected over most of the continents but this is not the case of the power system organizations. Indeed, as described with the concept of integrated power system, the organization over these large networks is divided by several kinds of internal borders. In this context, the research object, the cross-border coordination of operation, is a set of coordination arrangements over internal borders between differing regulatory, technical and market designs. These arrangements can include for instance the famous market couplings, some cost-sharing agreements or common security assessments among several other solutions. The existence and improvement of the cross-border coordination of operation can be beneficial to the whole integrated power system. This statement is verified in the European case as in 2012 where several regional and continental coordination arrangements are successfully implemented.In order to benefit from the European experience and contribute to support the European improvement process, this thesis investigates the cross-border coordination of operation in the European case with four angles of study. First, a modular framework is built to describe the existing solutions and the implementation choices from a regulatory point of view. Second, the thesis analyses the tools available to assess the impact of an evolution of the cross-border coordination. Third, the role of the European Union (EU) is described as critical both for the existing arrangements and to support the improvement process. The last angle of study focuses on two dimensions of the economic modes of coordination between transmission system operators.
