Malta will soon have to choose between retaining winter time all the year round, which is the time that nature gave us, or substitute it with the so-called summer time, an extra hour that is added at the end of March to give us lengthier days during spring and summer, and the first month of autumn.

Until now, the extra hour that is added in March is reversed at the end of October, but the European Union has decided that as from 2021 countries must choose between one of the two options. There will no longer be twice-yearly hourly changes, and each country must decide what to do by April of next year (2020), so that all will be in place by the following year when the system will be put in place.

In other words, as from 2021 we will have either winter time all year round or summer time all year round.

The Malta Independent last Wednesday reported that most unions and employers’ organisations would like to see Malta have summer time all the year round. Surveys that have been held by news portals and social media have shown that most Maltese are inclined to agree that we should have summer time across the whole year.

The reasons that are given are that we will have longer days, and that the sun will set at roughly 6pm at the earliest in winter, when at present it gets dark at around 5pm. Few seem to realise that this would mean that in December and January the sun will rise at roughly 8am, instead of 7am, making our mornings duller and darker.

But there are other issues that need to be taken into consideration, apart from our own personal views on the matter.

First of all, all countries will be choosing their own time, which could lead to changes we must adjust to if Malta had to go for a different option. We could, for example, be two hours behind London all year round if the British choose winter time and we choose summer time, and we could fall one hour behind nearby Italy if the latter choose winter time too.

This will have a huge effect on our dealings with these two countries – just to mention them. For one thing, airlines would have to review their schedule regarding their flights so as to be more accommodating to their passengers.

We are sure that before any decision is taken, all countries will be having talks among themselves to find the solution that would be most comfortable to all. It would really be a strange situation if individual countries had to go their own way without consulting each other. Imagine, for example, Holland and Belgium choosing a different time zone.

So there needs to be a coordinated effort so as to cause as little disruption as possible. One understands that differences could arise between countries in the northern part of Europe and those in the southern part, but one hopes that common sense will prevail and a compromise is found.