The seasonal time change should be abolished in 2021 and it is
up to the Member States to choose between winter or summer
time. This was the result of today’s vote in the European
Parliament’s Transport and Tourism Committee.
“The introduction of the time change years ago did not lead
to the expected benefits, such as energy savings. Instead,
there are serious warnings from doctors about health
hazards caused by the bi-annual time change. It is high
time that we address this now”, said Czech MEP Pavel
Svoboda on behalf of the EPP Group. In an online
consultation by the European Commission conducted last
year, more than 80 percent of the participants expressed
their support for the abolition of the seasonal
clock-change.
According to the committee, Member States should notify the
Commission of their choice by April 2020. “For us, it is
clear that subsidiarity is key here. However, we want to
make sure that the Single Market is not hampered by the
initiative. This is why we want to establish a coordination
mechanism with the aim of finding a good solution for all
Member States”, Svoboda explained. This mechanism will
consist of one representative for each Member State and one
for the Commission. Together they will discuss and assess
the potential impact of a country’s decision for summer or
winter time on the functioning of the internal market in
order to avoid significant disruption.
“It is important that we closely monitor the impact of
Member States’ final choices. If problems appear in the
internal market because of time differences, for example
with timetables in the transport sector or flight schedules
for airlines, we want to make sure we have a backstop.
Should significant problems arise, we want the European
Commission to trigger a 12-month delay of the legislation
in order to change it to deal with the problems”, Svoboda
concluded.
