MEP Marlene Mizzi has been appointed S&D spokesperson and negotiator for the Petitions Committee (PETI) on the legislative opinion to discontinue the bi-annual time changes and eventually repealing Directive 2000/84/EC. In fact, 84% of respondents have answered in favour of doing away with annual dual time changes and having summer time all throughout the year. Therefore, there will no longer be the need to move our clocks backward and forward by an hour twice a year. 

Mizzi stated: “I am honoured to have been entrusted with this legislative opinion that will affect the lives of all European citizens. Research has shown that the change to summer time has positive effects on various sectors, amongst which are tourism, the working day of European employees, the quality of life and health of our citizens. If this legislation goes through, time will be adjusted backwards at the end of March 2019 and remains as the permanent standard time. 

“The debate is one that is needed and called for by various citizens who have filed petitions on the matter. These petitions together with public consultations demonstrate that permanent daylight saving time, popularly known as ‘summertime’, is a clear preference of citizens, businesses and stakeholder groups who have responded to a survey organised by the European Commission,” said MEP Marlene Mizzi.

 “I shall also recommend putting an end to this bi-annual change of time and establish ‘summer-time’ as the new standard time in all Member States. This is the desire of the majority of citizens who hail from Northern states, such as Scandinavian countries, as well as from Southern states, as is Malta. I will also be negotiating for the position where all member states will have harmonized standard time, while retaining the different time zones as they currently are - as opposed to allowing each member state to decide whether to opt for the summer time standard or the wintertime standard.  Allowing member states to opt for different time standards will cause unnecessary inconvenience and confusion for travellers and businesses.

“I shall also be voicing the concern of the majority of the Maltese citizens who are in favour of this change, and whose opinion was expressed in a public consultation carried out by the Government earlier on this year,” said Marlene Mizzi.