The EU on Friday urged member countries to work together to avoid turning Europe into a confusing patchwork of different timezones, after announcing plans to abolish seasonal clock changes.
The European Commission wants to end the practice of putting clocks forward an hour in the spring and back an hour in the autumn, arguing that it causes unjustified disruption.
Each EU country is being asked to decide whether it wants to stay permanently on what is now their summer or their winter time.
This will end the twice-yearly ritual of time changes, but raises the possibility that neighbouring countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands could end up an hour apart.
To avoid a mishmash of timezones in neighbouring countries, the bloc’s Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, urged governments to cooperate as they make their choice. “Member states now have to decide — either they want to stick with summer or winter time,” Ms. Bulc said.
“In order to maintain a harmonised approach we are encouraging consultations at national levels to ensure a coordinated approach of all member states.”
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced the plan last month after an online consultation which generated some 4.6 million responses from EU citizens — mostly from Germany.
Wartime energy
The proposal also raises a fresh Brexit conundrum: if it goes ahead, EU member Ireland will stop changing the clocks, but British-ruled Northern Ireland will continue the practice.
The British government said it has “no plans to change daylight saving time”, meaning that for six months of every year, Ireland and Northern Ireland would be an hour apart.
“There are certain aspects and consequences for us in Ireland that will require careful and detailed consideration and therefore I will be listening carefully to the concerns of agencies and stakeholders,” Ireland’s Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan said .
Published - September 15, 2018 09:10 pm IST
