The seasonal time change should be abolished in 2021 and it is up to the Member States to choose between winter or summer time. This was the result of today’s vote in the European Parliament’s Transport and Tourism Committee.

“The introduction of the time change years ago did not lead to the expected benefits, such as energy savings. Instead, there are serious warnings from doctors about health hazards caused by the bi-annual time change. It is high time that we address this now”, said Czech MEP Pavel Svoboda on behalf of the EPP Group. In an online consultation by the European Commission conducted last year, more than 80 percent of the participants expressed their support for the abolition of the seasonal clock-change.

According to the committee, Member States should notify the Commission of their choice by April 2020. “For us, it is clear that subsidiarity is key here. However, we want to make sure that the Single Market is not hampered by the initiative. This is why we want to establish a coordination mechanism with the aim of finding a good solution for all Member States”, Svoboda explained. This mechanism will consist of one representative for each Member State and one for the Commission. Together they will discuss and assess the potential impact of a country’s decision for summer or winter time on the functioning of the internal market in order to avoid significant disruption.

“It is important that we closely monitor the impact of Member States’ final choices. If problems appear in the internal market because of time differences, for example with timetables in the transport sector or flight schedules for airlines, we want to make sure we have a backstop. Should significant problems arise, we want the European Commission to trigger a 12-month delay of the legislation in order to change it to deal with the problems”, Svoboda concluded.