The Transport Committee proposes that the clock change on
the last Sunday in March 2021 should be the last one for EU
countries that decide to permanently keep their summer
time. Member states that prefer to keep their standard
time, also known as ‘winter time’, could change the clocks
for the last time on the last Sunday in October 2021.
The draft report backed, by 23 votes in favour to 11
against, a Commission proposal to end seasonal change of
time, but postponed the start date from 2019 to 2021. This
would not modify EU countries’ right to decide on their
standard time.
Protecting the single market
Transport Committee MEPs also want EU countries to
coordinate any changes they make with each other. The
Commission should assess a member state’s decision to
change its standard time to ensure that the application of
summer time in some countries and winter time in others
does not disrupt the functioning of the internal market.
If the Commission determines that the foreseen time
arrangements could significantly and permanently hamper the
proper functioning of the single market, it may submit a
proposal to postpone the date of application of the
directive by a maximum of 12 months and submit a new
legislative proposal.
Next steps
The text, once approved by the full Parliament, will form
the MEPs’ position for negotiations with the Council of
Ministers.
Background
Referring to scientific studies indicating negative effects
on human health and a number of concerns expressed by
citizens’ initiatives, in a February 2018 resolution the
Parliament called on the Commission to conduct a “thorough
assessment of the current summer-time arrangements
directive and, if necessary, come up with a proposal for
its revision”.
In response, the Commission organised a public consultation
in the summer of 2018, which received 4.6 million
responses, of which 84% were in favour of discontinuing the
biannual clock changes, while 16% wanted to keep them. On
12 September 2018, the European Commission tabled
a proposal for
discontinuing seasonal changes of time.
The EU first unified the summer-time arrangements in 1980,
in order to ensure a harmonised approach to time switching
within the single market, as until then, national summer
time practices and schedules were diverging. The current
summer time arrangements directive requires EU countries to
switch to summer time on the last Sunday of March and back
to standard time on the last Sunday of October.
