Text · Opinion parliamentary committee draft
On the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on discontinuing seasonal changes of time
Document AGRI-PA-630764 · COM(2018)639 – C80408/2018 – 2018/0332(COD)
- Kind
- Opinion parliamentary committee draft AGRI-PA-630764
- Date
- 5 December 2018
- Committee
- Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
- Rapporteur
- Ulrike Müller
- Dossier
- 2018-0332
More facts (2)
- Formats
- Official page PDF Word
- Reference
- COM(2018)639 – C80408/2018 – 2018/0332(COD)
In short
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The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development gives its draft opinion on the Commission proposal to discontinue seasonal changes of time. The rapporteur supports ending the bi-annual clock change but asks to postpone it to 2020 and to coordinate member states by time zone. The draft proposes returning to wintertime as the standard time, and warns that an uncoordinated approach could fragment the single market across the three time zones. It sets out six amendments to the proposal, including a new recital on livestock farmers, a new article on reverting to wintertime, and a new article on coordination by time zones.
Position. The rapporteur supports discontinuing the seasonal change of time but proposes postponing it to 2020, returning to wintertime as standard time, and coordinating member states by time zones. The committee calls on the Committee on Transport and Tourism to take into account six amendments.
Key points
- The rapporteur supports the Commission proposal presented on 12 September 2018 to discontinue the seasonal change of time, following the public consultation and Parliament's call for an assessment.
- The rapporteur notes implications for citizens' and animals' health, for EU harmonisation, and a risk of fragmentation because member states choose their own standard time.
- The rapporteur notes that the Austrian presidency did not prioritise the issue and that transport ministers remained divided at their meetings in October and June 2018 and December 2017.
- The rapporteur considers an entry into force on 1 April 2019 too early and proposes postponing it to 2020 so member states can prepare and coordinate.
- The rapporteur proposes returning to wintertime as the standard time, since year-round summertime would technically be a change of time zone.
- The rapporteur proposes coordinating member states by groups of neighbouring countries in line with the three time zones (GMT +1, +2 and +3) to preserve the current state of play.
- Amendment 1 adds a recital stating that livestock farmers' concerns about summer time are now mostly addressed by modern equipment, while concerns about animals' biorhythm and farmers' working conditions remain.
- Amendment 2 changes Recital 7 so the directive applies from 1 April 2020, with the last summer-time period starting on 29 March 2020 and member states changing standard time on 31 October 2020.
- Amendment 3 allows member states to apply a seasonal change of standard time in 2020 at 1.00 a.m. Coordinated Universal Time on 31 October 2020, with notification under Article 2.
- Amendment 4 adds Article 2(1a) requiring member states, when abolishing the bi-annual time change, to revert to standard (winter-time) as a matter of principle.
- Amendment 5 adds Article 2a requiring coordination of the new time arrangements by grouping member states in line with the three time zones: GMT+1, GMT +2, GMT +3.
- Amendment 6 changes Article 4(1) so member states must adopt and publish the necessary laws, regulations and administrative provisions by 1 April 2020.
Who is affected
- Member states, which would choose their standard time and must coordinate by time zone.
- Livestock farmers, whose working conditions and animals' biorhythm are cited in the new recital.
- Economic sectors and citizens, affected by different time arrangements and movements.
Figures and deadlines
- 1 April 2019 — entry into force the rapporteur considers too early and wants postponed to 2020.
- 1 April 2020 — date from which the directive should apply under Amendment 2.
- 29 March 2020 — start of the last summer-time period under Amendment 2.
- 31 October 2020 — date for changing standard time under Amendments 2 and 3.
- 1 April 2020 — deadline for member states to adopt and publish implementing provisions under Amendment 6.
- GMT +1, +2 and +3 — the three time zones over which member states' territories stretch.
Text
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Jump to an amendment (6)
Short justification
In its resolution of 8 February 2018, the European Parliament called the European Commission to conduct an assessment on summer time arrangements and, if necessary, come up with a proposal for its revision.
Subsequently, the European Commission held a public consultation during the 2018 summer. The consultation showed a great support from the citizens to abolish the bi-annual change of clock.
The rapporteur underlines the will of the Parliament to listen to this clear demand from the European citizens. Therefore, the rapporteur supports the Commission proposal that was presented on 12 September 2018 to discontinue seasonal change of time.
Discontinuing seasonal change has several important implications. These implications concern the health of citizens because of the impact on biorhythm, but also the health of animals. The implications are also great regarding EU-harmonisation. The territories of the Member states stretch over three different time zones (GMT +1, +2 and +3) and any unprepared or non-coordinated approach could disturb the workings of single market. The competence to choose a standard time for its territory remains indeed in the hands of the Member states. Consequently, there is a high risk of fragmentation concerning the different time zones, as neighbouring countries could opt to switch to different time.
The rapporteur has also taken into account that the Austrian presidency did not make it a priority and that the Transports ministers remain divided on the issue when it was discussed during their meeting in October and June 2018 and December 2017.
Considering these limitations to the discontinuation of the summertime directive, the rapporteur proposes the following approach:
Coordination is crucial to ensure the functioning of the single market, for having a different time has implications on numerous of economic sectors and on the movements of citizens. This is especially true since the previous directive on time change was adopted when there were still only 15 member states. For these reasons, the rapporteur considers that an entry into force on 1 April 2019 is too early and needs to be postponed to 2020 in order to allow member states to prepare for the change, but also to coordinate.
Notwithstanding the Member states competence to set, the rapporteur proposes to return to the wintertime as the standard time. As a year round summertime would technically represent a change of time zone, all countries opting for wintertime as standard time would ease the process of discontinuing time change and prevent the fragmentation between member states.
Similarly, another way to ease the process is the coordination of Member states by groups of neighbouring countries and especially in line with the time zones (GMT +1, +2 and +3) to preserve the current state of play.
The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development calls on the Committee on Transport and Tourism, as the committee responsible, to take into account the following amendments:
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (3 a) In this context the situation of livestock farmers can serve as an example where the summer-time arrangements have been initially deemed incompatible with agricultural working practices, notably regarding the very early start of the working day already under standard time. Also, the bi-annual transition to summer-time made it harder to get the produce or animals out to the markets. And finally, due to cows sticking to their natural milking rhythm, a reduction of milk yields was assumed. However, modern agricultural equipment and practices have revolutionised farming in a way that makes most of these concerns no longer appear relevant while concerns regarding the biorhythm of animals as well as to farmers' working conditions still prevail. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (7) This Directive should apply from 1 April 2019, so that the last summer-time period subject to the rules of Directive 2000/84/EC should start, in every Member State, at 1.00 a.m., Coordinated Universal Time, on 31 March 2019. Member States that, after that summer-time period, intend to adopt a standard time corresponding to the time applied during the winter season in accordance with Directive 2000/84/EC should change their standard time at 1.00 a.m., Coordinated Universal Time, on 27 October 2019, so that similar and lasting changes occurring in different Member States take place simultaneously. It is desirable that Member States take the decisions on the standard time that each of them will apply as from 2019 in a concerted manner. | (7) This Directive should apply from 1 April 2020, so that the last summer-time period subject to the rules of Directive 2000/84/EC should start, in every Member State, at 1.00 a.m., Coordinated Universal Time, on 29 March 2020. Member States that, after that summer-time period, intend to adopt a standard time corresponding to the time applied during the winter season in accordance with Directive 2000/84/EC should change their standard time at 1.00 a.m., Coordinated Universal Time, on 31 October 2020, so that similar and lasting changes occurring in different Member States take place simultaneously. It is desirable that Member States take the decisions on the standard time that each of them will apply as from 2020 in a concerted manner. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| 2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, Member States may still apply a seasonal change of their standard time or times in 2019, provided that they do so at 1.00 a.m., Coordinated Universal Time, on 27 October 2019. The Member States shall notify this decision in accordance with Article 2. | 2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, Member States may still apply a seasonal change of their standard time or times in 2020, provided that they do so at 1.00 a.m., Coordinated Universal Time, on 31 October 2020. The Member States shall notify this decision in accordance with Article 2. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| 1 a. When abolishing the bi-annual time change, Member States shall revert to standard (winter-time) as a matter of principle. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| Article 2 a | |
| For the purpose of ensuring a harmonised implementation of this Directive, a coordination of the new time arrangements shall be undertaken by the means of grouping the Member states in line with the three time zones: GMT+1, GMT +2, GMT +3. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| Member States shall adopt and publish, by 1 April 2019 at the latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions. | Member States shall adopt and publish, by 1 April 2020 at the latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions. |
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Sources & citation
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- Data source
- Licensed CC BY 4.0.
- Retrieved
- 25 September 2026
Cite as
European Parliament (2018). “DRAFT OPINION on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on discontinuing seasonal changes of time”. Text, 5 December 2018. docId AGRI-PA-630764. EU Parl Watch Research. https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/AGRI-PA-630764 (retrieved 25 September 2026). Data: EP Open Data API: document record, https://data.europarl.europa.eu/api/v2/documents/AGRI-PA-630764 (CC BY 4.0).
BibTeX
@misc{epw-text-agri-pa-630764,
author = {{European Parliament}},
title = {{DRAFT OPINION on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on discontinuing seasonal changes of time}},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-12-05},
howpublished = {\url{https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/AGRI-PA-630764}},
url = {https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/AGRI-PA-630764},
urldate = {2026-09-25},
publisher = {EU Parl Watch Research},
note = {Text. docId AGRI-PA-630764. Data: EP Open Data API: document record (CC BY 4.0)}
}