Is the Sun Setting on DST in the EU?
In 2019, the European Union seemed intent on scrapping Daylight Saving Time (DST), but nothing has happened so far. What now?
UPDATE, August 2025: The EU is taking steps to rescind the 2019 proposal to abolish DST clock changes.
Read all about the latest suggestion.
Could the Sun be setting on DST in the European Union? The debate continues. European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium.
©iStockphoto.com/PaulGrecaud
For years, the EU has debated whether to scrap the twice-yearly clock changes that mark the start and end of DST.
Back in 2019, the European Commission proposed abolishing these seasonal changes, allowing each member state to decide whether to remain on standard time or summer time permanently.
In the spring of 2025, the Commission signaled that it may withdraw the proposal, though the final decision rests with EU member states and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). For now, the proposal remains under consideration, with time still available for feedback and debate.
It is not yet a definitive decision, but we will carefully consider their feedback before making a final determination.
Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, March 2025
eutoday.netEU Effort to End DST Deadlocked Since 2019
In 2019, the European Parliament supported a proposal from the European Commission to eliminate DST in EU member countries. The proposal was to produce a final law repealing Directive 2000/84/EC, the EU’s existing DST legislation, also known as the Summer Time Directive.
The results were 410 members voted in favor of the draft, 192 were against, and 51 members abstained from voting. However, in 2021, the proposal stalled in the European Council because of practical concerns, including challenges in coordinating time zones and implementation logistics.
As a result, the practice of changing the clocks for Daylight Saving Time (DST) is still in place, with no immediate plans to change it across EU Member States and affiliated countries.
Ukraine votes to cancel Daylight Saving Time
“Outdated” Practice
In 2024, 67 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) renewed efforts by urging the European Commission to revisit the issue, highlighting health risks and questioning the contemporary relevance of DST.
The Barcelona Declaration on Time Policies, signed by 200 organizations and public administrations worldwide, also called on the European Commission to resume efforts to end seasonal clock changes by 2026. In a shared statement, they described the practice as “outdated” and urged the EU to take action.
Recent studies point out that either there is no effect, or even worse, DST could be making us spend more energy, given current consumption patterns, which increases the spending on cooling and heating.
200 stakeholders
The Barcelona Declaration on Time PoliciesCountries Would Decide Their Time
Under the draft directive, each Member State would decide whether to remain permanently on “summer time” or to change their clocks back one final time to permanent standard time, also known as “winter time.”
Opponents are worried that this could lead to a patchwork of time zones across Europe. This could cause a fragmentation of the European market, destabilizing the union at a time when the integrity of its single market is in question.
Scrapping the directive would maintain synchronized time changes across the EU, supporting cross-border business and transport schedules.
Will the US Create a DST Ripple Effect?
Momentum for ending the seasonal time changes appears stronger outside the EU. In December 2024, US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that DST is “inconvenient” and “very costly to our Nation,” pledging that the Republican Party would work to eliminate it.
Jørgen Bak, chairman of the Danish Association Against Daylight Saving Time, believes a US decision to abolish clock changes could influence Europe:
I’m convinced that if Daylight Saving Time is abolished in the US, it will have a big impact on whether people will really consider doing the same here in Europe.
Jørgen Bak, Danish Association Against Daylight Saving Time
History of DST in the EU
The EU first synchronized its Daylight Saving Time schedule in 1980 to ensure continuously stable time offsets across the single market.
Currently, DST in Europe runs from 01:00 UTC on the last Sunday of March to 01:00 UTC on the last Sunday of October every year.
It includes all countries in the European Economic Area (EEA), except Iceland. Switzerland follows the same schedule, although the country is not part of the EEA.
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