EU – Baltic States

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 19:43

European Commission proposes scrapping daylight saving in EU

BC, Riga, 12.09.2018.Print version
The European Commission on Wednesday proposed EU member states to abolish daylight saving, where clocks are advanced by one hour in summer, allowing each member state to choose whether to stick permanently to summer or winter time.

According to the European Commission’s proposal, the last switches to summer/winter time would take place next year.


Each member state by April 2019 should announce its decision on permanent summer or winter time.


At the same time, all changes should be coordinated with the neighboring countries.

As reported, the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers on August 14 supported the national position prepared by the Economics Ministry that supports abolishing daylight saving time, switching clocks twice a year, keeping the current summer time permanently.


At the same time, Latvia does not support the idea that abolishing of daylight saving time is left as the national issue. The ministry sees risks that if every member state makes its own decision on the issue, it might negatively impact logistics, communication and transport sectors, and create a situation that Latvia is in a different time zone from other Baltic states or Finland, for example.

The European Commission’s proposal has been submitted to the European Parliament and Council. In order for the regulations to come into force next year, the institutions should adopt them not later than in March 2019.


EU law stipulates that, across the bloc, clocks move forward by an hour on the last Sunday of March, and back again on the last Sunday of October.


The daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months so that evening daylight lasts longer. The idea first occurred at the end of the 18th century, while regular practice in Europe was introduced in the 1960-70s. Latvia started the daylight saving time practice along with the rest of the Soviet Union at the time in 1981.






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