Text · Opinion parliamentary committee draft
On the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council discontinuing seasonal changes of time and repealing Directive 2000/84/EC
Document JURI-PA-632863 · COM(2018)0639 – C80408/2018 – 2018/0332(COD)
- Kind
- Opinion parliamentary committee draft JURI-PA-632863
- Date
- 17 January 2019
- Committee
- Committee on Legal Affairs
- Rapporteur
- Pavel Svoboda
- Dossier
- 2018-0332
More facts (2)
- Formats
- Official page PDF Word
- Reference
- COM(2018)0639 – C80408/2018 – 2018/0332(COD)
In short
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The Committee on Legal Affairs gives its draft opinion on the Commission's proposal for a directive to end seasonal clock changes and repeal Directive 2000/84/EC. The rapporteur welcomes ending seasonal time changes in a harmonised way, but says Member States should choose their own standard time rather than have the EU prescribe one. The rapporteur regrets the Commission did not carry out a proper impact assessment or a full 12-week public consultation, and agrees the directive should be adopted as soon as possible. The committee proposes amendments to postpone the directive's application from 2019 to 2021, add references to petitions and health studies, and require Member States to decide on standard time in a concerted and coordinated manner.
Position. The Committee on Legal Affairs proposes amendments to the Commission's proposal: postpone application from 2019 to 2021, add references to petitions and health studies, and require Member States to decide on standard time in a concerted and coordinated manner. It calls for the directive to be adopted as soon as possible.
Key points
- The rapporteur welcomes the Commission's proposal to end seasonal time changes in a harmonised manner in all Member States.
- The rapporteur says seasonal time changes affect the internal market and raise public health concerns, including for minority groups, and that accidents and heart attacks increase after clock changes.
- The rapporteur says a directly applicable Regulation prescribing standard or summer time in all Member States would be over-reaching, and Member States should be free to choose, with more time to prepare.
- The rapporteur regrets the Commission did not conduct a proper impact assessment or a full 12-week public and stakeholder consultation.
- The rapporteur agrees the directive should be adopted as soon as possible, preferably before the end of the current legislature.
- The committee calls on the Committee on Transport and Tourism to take into account its amendments.
- Amendment 1 adds references to petitions from citizens, parliamentary questions and a public hearing, and to Parliament's resolution of 8 February 2018.
- Amendment 2 adds that evidence is not conclusive on summer-time benefits, but numerous scientific studies, including the European Parliamentary Research Service study of October 2017, indicate negative effects on human health.
- Amendment 3 postpones the directive's application from 1 April 2019 to 1 April 2021, and the last summer-time period start from 31 March 2019 to 31 March 2021.
- Amendment 3 also moves the date for Member States to change their standard time from 27 October 2019 to 27 October 2021, and requires decisions to be taken in a concerted and coordinated manner.
- Amendment 4 allows Member States to apply a seasonal change in 2021 instead of 2019, at 1.00 a.m. Coordinated Universal Time on 27 October 2021, with notification under Article 2.
- Amendments 5 to 7 move the deadlines for Member States to adopt and publish implementing provisions, apply them, and repeal Directive 2000/84/EC from 1 April 2019 to 1 April 2021.
Who is affected
- Member States, which would choose their own standard time and must notify decisions and adopt implementing provisions.
- Citizens and civil society, whose opposition and petitions are cited as background.
- Specific minority groups disproportionately affected by disruption of the circadian cycle.
- The Commission, which is asked to conduct an impact assessment and consultation.
Figures and deadlines
- 1 April 2021, the date from which the directive should apply.
- 31 March 2021, the start of the last summer-time period under Directive 2000/84/EC.
- 27 October 2021, the date for changing standard time.
- 1.00 a.m., Coordinated Universal Time, the time for the changes.
- 12 weeks, the length of the public and stakeholder consultation the rapporteur says was not held.
- 8 February 2018, the date of Parliament's resolution.
- October 2017, the date of the European Parliamentary Research Service study.
- 1 April 2021, the deadline for Member States to adopt and publish implementing provisions and to repeal Directive 2000/84/EC.
Text
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Jump to an amendment (7)
Short justification
Your rapporteur welcomes the Commission’s proposal to put an end to seasonal time changes in a harmonised manner in all Member States, thereby taking Parliament up on its numerous calls for such measures over the last several years.
The practice of bi-annual clock changes, which has been prescribed by Union legislation for close to 40 years, has recently been met with much opposition by citizens and civil society.
It is important to underline that such seasonal changes of time affect not only the functioning of the internal market but also raise multiple public health concerns, not least related to the protection of specific minority groups which are disproportionately affected by the disruption of the circadian cycle. Studies have furthermore shown that the number of accidents and heart attacks increase during the days following a clock change.
While it is clear that action is needed at Union level in order to harmonise the end of seasonal time changes, rules in the form of a directly applicable Regulation which would prescribe the use of either standard time or summer time in all Member States would be needlessly over-reaching and would not take into account different needs and conditions in different parts of the EU. The Member States should therefore be free to make their own choice. They should however be given more time before the Directive starts to apply in order to prepare for the change, which should be implemented in a concerted and coordinated manner.
Your rapporteur regrets that the Commission did not conduct any proper impact assessment and did not hold a full 12 weeks long public and stakeholder consultation before it presented the proposal to update Directive 2000/84/EC. It must be underlined that in the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making, the institutions have committed to the understanding that impact assessments and consultations constitute essential tools for improving the quality of Union legislation.
This rapporteur nevertheless fully agrees with the rapporteur in the lead committee that this directive should be adopted as soon as possible, and preferably before the end of the current legislature in order to ensure legal certainty and to allow Member States to well prepare for the upcoming changes.
The Committee on Legal Affairs 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 |
|---|---|
| (2) In its resolution of 8 February 2018, the European Parliament called on the Commission to conduct an assessment of the summer-time arrangements provided by Directive 2000/84/EC and, if necessary, to come up with a proposal for its revision. That resolution also confirmed that it is essential to maintain a harmonised approach to time arrangements throughout the Union. | (2) Against the background of several petitions from citizens, parliamentary questions and a public hearing on the matter, the European Parliament, in its resolution of 8 February 2018, called on the Commission to conduct an assessment of the summer-time arrangements provided by Directive 2000/84/EC and, if necessary, to come up with a proposal for its revision. That resolution also confirmed that it is essential to maintain a harmonised approach to time arrangements throughout the Union. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (3) The Commission has examined available evidence, which points to the importance of having harmonised Union rules in this area to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market and avoid, inter alia, disruptions to the scheduling of transport operations and the functioning of information and communication systems, higher costs to cross-border trade, or lower productivity for goods and services. Evidence is not conclusive as to whether the benefits of summer-time arrangements outweigh the inconveniences linked to a biannual change of time. | (3) The Commission has examined available evidence, which points to the importance of having harmonised Union rules in this area to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market and avoid, inter alia, disruptions to the scheduling of transport operations and the functioning of information and communication systems, higher costs to cross-border trade, or lower productivity for goods and services. Evidence is not conclusive as to whether the benefits of summer-time arrangements outweigh the inconveniences linked to a biannual change of time, although numerous scientific studies, including the European Parliamentary Research Service study of October 2017 on EU summer-time arrangements under Directive 2000/84/EC, have indicated the existence of negative effects on human health. |
| 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 2021, 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 2021. 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 2021, 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 2021 in a concerted and coordinated manner. |
| (The amendment to change 2019 to 2021 applies throughout the text). |
| 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 2021, provided that they do so at 1.00 a.m., Coordinated Universal Time, on 27 October 2021. The Member States shall notify this decision in accordance with Article 2. |
| 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 2021 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. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| They shall apply those provisions from 1 April 2019. | They shall apply those provisions from 1 April 2021. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| Directive 2000/84/EC is repealed with effect from 1 April 2019. | Directive 2000/84/EC is repealed with effect from 1 April 2021. |
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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 (2019). “DRAFT OPINION on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council discontinuing seasonal changes of time and repealing Directive 2000/84/EC”. Text, 17 January 2019. docId JURI-PA-632863. EU Parl Watch Research. https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/JURI-PA-632863 (retrieved 25 September 2026). Data: EP Open Data API: document record, https://data.europarl.europa.eu/api/v2/documents/JURI-PA-632863 (CC BY 4.0).
BibTeX
@misc{epw-text-juri-pa-632863,
author = {{European Parliament}},
title = {{DRAFT OPINION on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council discontinuing seasonal changes of time and repealing Directive 2000/84/EC}},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-17},
howpublished = {\url{https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/JURI-PA-632863}},
url = {https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/JURI-PA-632863},
urldate = {2026-09-25},
publisher = {EU Parl Watch Research},
note = {Text. docId JURI-PA-632863. Data: EP Open Data API: document record (CC BY 4.0)}
}