The European Commission believes reaching a consensus to end seasonal clock changes “is still possible” and will present a study on the matter this year, with member states indicating they are willing to analyse it once delivered.
In the early hours of March 29, clocks across the European Union will move forward one hour to begin summer time — an obligation under a European directive requiring clocks to be adjusted forward and backward one hour on the last Sunday of March and October respectively each year.
In September 2018, the European Commission proposed ending the seasonal adjustment, but the process has been blocked since then due to a lack of agreement among member states.
In a written response to Lusa, Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said the executive decided to propose ending clock changes in 2018 after receiving “requests from citizens and member states, a European Parliament resolution, several studies and a public consultation” all supporting the measure.
Read more: More than 50% of Europeans do not use public transport
“A coordinated solution to clock changes is still possible. We have launched a study to support this decision-making process, which should be concluded by the end of 2026,” she said, noting that it is ultimately for member states “to decide whether they want to permanently maintain summer or winter time.”
For the process to advance, the Council of the EU — representing member state governments — must put the issue back on the table and seek consensus.
That task currently falls to Cyprus, which holds the rotating presidency until June. Asked whether it intends to pursue consensus before then, a Cypriot presidency spokeswoman noted that the Commission is “currently preparing a related study on this long-pending legislative proposal,” adding that “if the study becomes available during our presidency, we will be ready to present it and hold an exchange of views in the relevant working group.”
The EU debate on clock changes dates back to at least 2018. In 2019, the European Parliament voted to end the practice by 2021 following a Commission public consultation in which 84% of 4.6 million respondents supported the measure — but the proposal stalled due to the absence of a common position in the Council.
