On Wednesday 12 September, the European Commission officially proposed to put an end to the six-monthly hour change across EU member states on 1 Aril 2019 and to leave member states the choice of whether they want the permanent time in their country to be summer time or winter time.
"Clock-changing must stop. Member States should themselves decide whether their citizens live in summer or winter time. It is a question of subsidiarity", said the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, in his State of the Union address to the European Parliament on 12 September (see other articles).
This officialising and publication of the draft directive to this effect follows a Commission communication of 31 August (see EUROPE 12086), which itself followed a public consultation in which some 4.6 million people took part (see EUROPE 12056).
The draft text partly echoes a German concern and answers a request for the principle of subsidiarity to be respected, a key point of the Lisbon Treaties.
The twice-a-year clock change has been governed by EU law since 1980 and currently by Directive 2000/84/EC. The institution is suggesting repealing the latter text in the name of road safety, health or agriculture.
In practice, the proposal suggests that member states end the hour change on 1 April 2019. Unusually there would not be any real transposition period for the directive.
While the proposal needs to be the subject of agreement between the Council of the EU and the European Parliament, each country will have to decide for itself whether it wants its citizens to live in ‘summer time’ or ‘winter time.’ Each country’s choice would not be irrevocable, however, and those that want to change it will be able to do so by means of a notification to the Commission at least six months before the change takes place.
Karoline Edtstadler, Austrian secretary of state at the interior ministry, who represented the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU during the debate on the State of the Union, took note the proposal and said that the question would soon be on the Council’s agenda. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)