Countries in the European Union (EU) should stop changing time from 2021 - such a proposal was supported by the Transport and Tourism Committee of the European Parliament (EP) on Monday.
The committee proposes that the clocks in the EU countries that have chosen summer time should be changed for the last time on the last Sunday of March 2021, and those wishing to keep winter time should do so on the last Sunday of October 2021, according to the EP report.
According to MEPs, EU countries should coordinate decisions on the chosen time, and the European Commission should evaluate them so as not to harm the common market. If necessary, the Commission could propose to postpone the entry into force of the directive for up to a year and submit a new proposal during that time.
23 members of the committee voted for such a proposal, 11 were against. The position of the committee will have to be approved by the whole Parliament, and then negotiations with the Council of the EU will begin.
Based on the findings of scientists on the negative effects of time change on health and the complaints of Europeans, last February the EP adopted a resolution calling on the EC to thoroughly assess the impact of the seasonal time change directive and propose changes to it if necessary.
Last summer, the European Commission held a public consultation on this issue. A total of 4,6 million was received. opinion of Europeans: 84 percent. supported the abandonment of seasonal time change, while 16 percent wanted to continue this practice. Although the Commission proposed to stop turning the clocks from April 2019, MEPs believe that such a deadline would be too early.
According to the data of a representative survey conducted by the market and public opinion research company "Baltijos tyrimi" last November, 62 percent The people of Lithuania would like to stay in the country if the annual time change is abandoned Summer time. This choice is most supported by people over 50, residents of district centers or smaller towns.
At that time, 26 percent would like winter time. of those interviewed. Residents of big cities, as well as respondents living in the western and eastern regions of the country, are relatively more in favor of winter time. A tenth of the respondents did not care what time to live in, and 2 percent did not. did not answer the question.
Daylight saving time starts later in the morning and lasts longer in the evening compared to winter time. And in winter time, the daylight hours start earlier in the morning, but it gets dark earlier in the evening.
For the first time at the EU level, the introduction of daylight saving time was agreed upon in the 1980s, and since then all EU countries have been turning their clocks back one hour twice a year - on the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October.
