“Millions of EU citizens said they don’t want keep changing the clocks anymore,” the President of European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker told German state broadcaster ZDF on Friday morning. A survey conducted by the EU Commission in revealed that 80% of EU citizens wants the end of the practice to switch between winter and daylight saving time twice a year.
“They want the summer time for all seasons and so will happen,” he revealed.
“More than 80 percent of EU citizens wanted to abolish the EU’s switch and favored keeping the time used in summer for the whole year, Jean-Claude Juncker said.
“We will decide that today,” Juncker said. “Millions … believe that summertime should be all the time.”
Juncker said that the EU Commission would propose giving control over setting the time to EU member states.
The public survey run from July 4th to August 16th 2018.
84% of a total of 4.6 million participants from 28 EU member states said they wanted to abolish the switching twice a year. It the highest number of responses ever received in any Commission public consultation, the Commission said in a statement.
The preliminary results indicate that more than three quarters (76%) of the respondents consider that changing the clock twice a year is a ‘very negative’ or ‘negative’ experience.
Which of the following alternatives would you favour?
What is your overall experience with the clock change?
The final results of the public consultation will be published in the coming weeks.
Background
It was the European Parliament called for a review of the twice-yearly hour changes across the bloc last February.
A petition by Finnish citizens over health concerns have led to the move.Critics of switching the clocks twice a year say it can cause long-term health problems, especially among young children and elderly people.
Research has shown that the time change disrupts sleep schedules and can impact productivity at work.
Supporters say making the switch to give extra morning daylight in winter and evening light in summer can help reduce traffic accidents and save energy.
European Parliament members voted 384 to 153 in a non-binding resolution and urged the European Commission to carry out a “thorough assessment” of the daylight saving time (DST) arrangements for summer time and, if necessary “come up with a proposal for its revision.”
Any change would still need approval from national governments and European Parliament to become law.
EU law requires that citizens in all 28 EU countries move their clocks an hour forward on the last Sunday in March and switch back to winter time on the final Sunday in October.
“The purpose of EU rules was not to harmonise the time regime in the EU but to address the problems, notably for the transport and logistics sectors, which arise from an uncoordinated application of clock-changes in the course of the year,” the commission said in a statement.
“In parallel to the daylight saving time arrangement in the European Union, the Member States apply three different time zones or standard times. The decision on the standard time is a national competence,” the statement added.
Outside the EU, a handful of European countries have stopped switching between summer and winter time, including Russia, Turkey, Belarus and Iceland.
A poll posted on KTG website on the issue has shown so far following results:
I long for the time I will not get ‘depressed’ in November and December when it gets dark already before 5 o’ clock in the afternoon.
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It’s interesting the Greece and Cyprus were the only countries where a majority wanted to keep the time change. Is that a cultural thing do you think?
One-Size-Fits-All does not work for everyone. Long ago in some countries the change was considered good because we didn’t want our children coming home from school in the dark. Their safety was of paramount concern. It depends on what matters locally.
Amazing how the survey carried out managed to not include a survey for all. This is the first news some have received about a survey and long after it has been completed.