The time change will occur on the last Sunday of March, that is March 31, 2024, which will also mean the onset of the summer season.
The end of winter time and the transition to summer time means that the clock hands will show 04:00 from 03:00 on Sunday morning. This means we… will lose an hour of sleep.
The corresponding message from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport says:
“We remind you that on Sunday, March 31, 2024, “winter time” expires, in accordance with Directive 2000/84 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19.01.2001, the clock hands must be moved forward one hour, i.e. from 03:00 am to 04:00 am.”
As the Athens News previously wrote, despite the fact that this topic is discussed in EU several years, there is still no decision to abolish the alternation of winter and summer time. On the last Sunday night of the current month, that is, March 31, 2024, when the clock shows 03:00, we will move the hands forward one hour so that they show 04:00.
Change of time: how the measure was introduced
Let us remember that the decision to move the clock hands was made to save energy. Three and a half years after the proposal to close the issue of changing time in Europe, the negotiation process continues, and the clocks are moved twice a year by one hour. As the summer season approaches, Daylight Saving Time is just around the corner, taking place on the last Sunday in March in 2023.
Despite the fact that they took up the matter very eagerly, the commission’s proposal in the summer of 2018 caused debate in European countries about which time zone they should choose. As a result, no one seems to be in a hurry to change anything. One by one, member states EU began to weigh the pros and cons in order to choose the time (summer or winter) by which they would have to live. Then the pandemic came and pushed this issue into the background.
The original proposal, presented by former commission chairman Jean-Claude Juncker in September 2018, suggested that 2019 would be the last year that clocks in Europe would change in March, but gave member states leeway to switch to winter time on the last Sunday in October. From now on, a fixed time is set and each member state will have the discretion to choose what it will be, and neighboring countries can coordinate their actions to avoid confusion at borders.
Member states’ initial willingness to at least discuss the proposal was accompanied by a general feeling that the milestones set were too ambitious, largely due to a lack of documentation of the implications. And while some blocs of countries may have been either for or against the proposal from the outset, everyone agreed that such a solution was all about good coordination to avoid the “tangle” of different time zones, which also will have implications for the proper functioning of the single internal market. Thus, the proposed implementation date was very quickly postponed by two years – to April 1, 2021. However, this milestone has also been passed.
Proposal to amend Directive 2000/84/EC, which currently regulates the seasonal change of time in EU, remains frozen at the European Transport Council. Even during the German presidency of the council, where public opinion is in favor of ending the time change in Europe, this the issue was not raised due to the pandemic. Given that decisions on the transportation board are traditionally made unanimously, while meetings are held remotely and the issue is not pressing, decision-making procedures are slowed down.
Greece’s position from the outset was not to change the regime, mainly due to the impact that the change would have on tourism and air transport.
Our country belongs to a bloc of states that are in the minority. It is also important that with such a “somersault,” serious adjustments and changes will have to be made, from the school schedule to working hours in the public sector. Let us remember that the debate was initiated by Finland, which put forward various reasons, including the psychological impact of changing times.
Since at the European level this issue falls within the competence of the Directorate General for Mobility of the European Commission, in our country it is within the competence of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.
Energy saving introduced daylight saving time
At present, when energy prices have risen sharply, creating strong inflationary trends, it should be noted that The first movement of the clock hands was made precisely for the purpose of saving energy. Although today it has already been proven that the savings were insignificant. However, using sunlight for more time each day has reduced the need for artificial lighting while increasing worker productivity.
Daylight saving time was introduced in Germany during the First World War, then in Great Britain. The United States, although emulating Europe, backed down at the end of the war because these changes displeased many citizens, especially farmers.
Daylight Saving Time was reintroduced for the same reasons during World War II in the United States, only this time it was set for the entire year. This gave rise to the nickname “wartime”, in contrast to “peacetime”, which returned with the onset of winter. Ultimately, the oil crisis of October 1973 was the catalyst for European countries, one after another, to introduce an annual time change that occurred twice a year.
The European Union first introduced rules for daylight saving time in 1980, adopting a directive that coordinated national practices at the time. The current directive, which came into force in 2001, introduced daylight saving time on the last Sunday of March and October respectively.
How the question of repealing the measure arose
According to the European Commission, on 12 September 2018, the commission presented a proposal to end seasonal time changes in 2019 across the EU, giving member states the freedom to choose their official time. The Commission made the proposal because “the system of semi-annual time changes is increasingly being contested by citizens, the European Parliament and a growing number of Member States.”
It therefore analyzed the available evidence, which shows that it is important to have harmonized union rules in this area to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market. This point of view is supported by the European Parliament, as well as other actors (for example, in the transport sector). The commission also held public consultations, during which about 4.6 million responses were received, of which 84% were in favor of abolishing the clock change, and only 16% were in favor of maintaining the measure. A report was prepared based on the results of the consultation.
According to the European Commission, the final decision is currently being considered by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. For the proposal to have legal consequences, they must first reach an agreement. On 26 March 2019, the European Parliament adopted its position on the Commission’s proposal in favor of abolishing seasonal time changes by 2021. Reportedly, the council has not yet decided on its position, and, apparently, everything will remain that way…
Despite the fact that they took up the matter very eagerly, the commission’s proposal in the summer of 2018 caused debate in European countries about which time zone they should choose. As a result, no one seems to be in a hurry to change anything. One by one, member states EU began to weigh the pros and cons in order to choose the time (summer or winter) by which they would have to live. Then the pandemic came and pushed this issue into the background.
The original proposal, presented by former commission chairman Jean-Claude Juncker in September 2018, suggested that 2019 would be the last year that clocks in Europe would change in March, but gave member states leeway to switch to winter time on the last Sunday in October. From now on, a fixed time is set and each member state will have the discretion to choose what it will be, and neighboring countries can coordinate their actions to avoid confusion at borders.
Member states’ initial willingness to at least discuss the proposal was accompanied by a general feeling that the milestones set were too ambitious, largely due to a lack of documentation of the implications. And while some blocs of countries may have been either for or against the proposal from the outset, everyone agreed that such a solution was all about good coordination to avoid the “tangle” of different time zones, which also will have implications for the proper functioning of the single internal market. Thus, the proposed implementation date was very quickly postponed by two years – to April 1, 2021. However, this milestone has also been passed.
Proposal to amend Directive 2000/84/EC, which currently regulates the seasonal change of time in EU, remains frozen at the European Transport Council. Even during the German presidency of the council, where public opinion is in favor of ending the time change in Europe, this the issue was not raised due to the pandemic. Given that decisions on the transportation board are traditionally made unanimously, while meetings are held remotely and the issue is not pressing, decision-making procedures are slowed down.
Greece’s position from the outset was not to change the regime, mainly due to the impact that the change would have on tourism and air transport.
Our country belongs to a bloc of states that are in the minority. It is also important that with such a “somersault,” serious adjustments and changes will have to be made, from the school schedule to working hours in the public sector. Let us remember that the debate was initiated by Finland, which put forward various reasons, including the psychological impact of changing times.
Since at the European level this issue falls within the competence of the Directorate General for Mobility of the European Commission, in our country it is within the competence of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.
Energy saving introduced daylight saving time
At present, when energy prices have risen sharply, creating strong inflationary trends, it should be noted that The first movement of the clock hands was made precisely for the purpose of saving energy. Although today it has already been proven that the savings were insignificant. However, using sunlight for more time each day has reduced the need for artificial lighting while increasing worker productivity.
Daylight saving time was introduced in Germany during the First World War, then in Great Britain. The United States, although emulating Europe, backed down at the end of the war because these changes displeased many citizens, especially farmers.
Daylight Saving Time was reintroduced for the same reasons during World War II in the United States, only this time it was set for the entire year. This gave rise to the nickname “wartime”, in contrast to “peacetime”, which returned with the onset of winter. Ultimately, the oil crisis of October 1973 was the catalyst for European countries, one after another, to introduce an annual time change that occurred twice a year.
The European Union first introduced rules for daylight saving time in 1980, adopting a directive that coordinated national practices at the time. The current directive, which came into force in 2001, introduced daylight saving time on the last Sunday of March and October respectively.
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