EU has other problems

With the Easter bunny comes daylight saving time in Europe

A proposal to end the time change has been on the table in the EU since 2018. There is no agreement in sight.

(Bild: ©ChristArt - stock.adobe.com)

This year, summer time began on Easter Sunday. The hands were moved forward in Europe by 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock. A proposal to end this procedure has been on the table in the EU since 2018, but there is still no agreement in sight.

The corresponding Commission proposal from 2018 was already approved by the EU Parliament in spring 2019. Since then, however, the ball has been in the court of the Council, i.e. the EU member states, which have not yet made a decision. However, a majority of member states would have to approve the abolition. According to current EU circles, it is not expected that the current Belgian Council Presidency plans to raise the issue again.

It remains to be seen whether Hungary, which will hold the Council Presidency in the second half of 2024, will put the issue back on the agenda. However, the last time a Council of Ministers discussed the time change was in December 2019, when Finland held the presidency.

Single time zone for the economy
The European Commission's proposal envisages no more time changes. However, it should be left to each member state of the Union to decide whether to switch to summer or winter time throughout the year. However, many countries have expressed reservations about this plan, as a uniform time zone seems desirable for the economy, at least in Central Europe. Otherwise, time differences between countries could affect trade. Incidentally, official Austria prefers a permanent summer time as standard time.

Online survey sparked discussion
The process of abolition was triggered by an EU-wide (non-representative) online survey. In this survey, 84% of participants were in favor of ending the time change. Most voted in favor of permanent summer time in 2018. 4.6 million responses were received, including three million from Germany alone - a record, but still less than one percent of EU citizens.

Time change was introduced in 1973, Austria followed later
Throughout the EU, the clock used to be turned back on the last Sunday in March - and back again on the last Sunday in October. Daylight saving time was introduced in Europe in 1973 in response to the oil crisis and with the aim of saving energy. The time shift was intended to gain an hour of daylight for businesses and households. France was the first to do so.

Austria only decided to introduce it in 1979 due to administrative problems and because it wanted to harmonize with Switzerland and Germany in terms of traffic. These two countries did not introduce summer time until 1980. However, summer time had already been introduced in the Alpine republic during the First World War. In 1916, it was in force for the monarchy from May 1 to September 30, but was then discontinued. A second - permanently unsuccessful - attempt was made between 1940 and 1948.