Around 84 percent supported the abolition of the time change when the European Commission conducted an online survey on the topic in 2018. Over 4.6 million people participated — a record number. The Commission responded swiftly, proposing to end the biannual clock shifts starting in 2021. The European Parliament approved the plan in 2019. However, nothing has happened since then, and there is a reason for that.
For an EU-wide regulation to come into effect, the member states must first reach an agreement within the Council of the EU. This is precisely where the problem lies: the countries are divided. Some advocate for permanent summer time, others prefer standard time (commonly referred to as winter time). Still, others want no change at all. So far, a unified solution remains out of reach.
The decision on which time should be observed permanently is far from straightforward. It affects not only people’s biological rhythms but also the economy, transportation, and cross-border cooperation. If each country adopts its own rule, the result could be a patchwork of time zones — potentially causing chaos for train schedules, flight connections, and business hours.
Priorities – why they matter
Germany in particular had strongly advocated for the abolition, not least because two-thirds of the votes in the online survey came from the Federal Republic. However, other countries view the issue as less urgent – and so it gradually faded from the political agenda following the parliamentary decision in 2019.
Since then, much has happened: Brexit, the pandemic, the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine. The time change steadily slipped down the list of priorities. Although the topic was occasionally mentioned under various EU Council presidencies, it was never seriously advanced.
And now? Everything stays as it is – at least for the time being. As long as the member states cannot agree on a common position, the clocks will continue to be adjusted twice a year. The next time will be this coming Sunday. As always.