On the night of Sunday, October 26, the clocks will again be set back one hour. This means that people can sleep longer, but in spring, sleep will again be interrupted — adaptation will be required again, writes TV3. Why do these "time games" continue, and why has the European Union (EU) not abandoned them yet?
The change of time is not only a practical but also a political issue: the establishment of time zones was originally linked to decisions made by governments and states.
The first introduction of clock changes occurred during World War I. In the German Empire, the clocks were set forward by one hour to save energy for the needs of the war. Other countries followed Germany, but after the war, most returned to standard time. Clock changes were also used during World War II.
In the 1970s, amid the oil crisis, the transition to daylight saving time was reinstated in an attempt to reduce electricity and fuel consumption.
Latvia first switched to daylight saving time in 1981. Since 2001, the transition to summer and winter time in the EU has been regulated by a directive requiring all member states to follow a unified procedure. In Latvia, the seasonal time change is established by the Cabinet of Ministers' regulations that came into force on October 29, 2010.
The idea of seasonal clock changes originated in an era when the internet did not exist, and energy consumption was different from today. Therefore, the question arises — why does this practice persist?
In 2018, debates began in Europe about ending seasonal time changes. The European Commission proposed to abolish this practice, stating that the original goal — energy savings — is no longer relevant.
That same year, a large public survey was conducted, receiving 4.6 million responses from 28 member states — a record for public surveys by the European Commission. Of these, 84% were in favor of abolishing the time change, with 85% of respondents in Latvia supporting this idea.
In 2019, the European Parliament voted to end the clock changes by 2021. However, the proposal was not implemented as EU countries could not reach an agreement in the EU Council.
This topic was also discussed in March of this year in the European Parliament, where deputies and experts stated that the time change no longer brings any benefits, and the EU should abandon it by 2026.
This week, at a press conference of the European Commission, its representative Anna-Kaisa Itkonen confirmed that the issue is still on the agenda:
"We still believe that a coordinated solution can be found. The Commission made a proposal in 2018 — following numerous requests from member states and the European Parliament."
Itkonen emphasized that the Commission is aware that since 2019, the issue has not progressed in the EU Council, and now it is up to the member states to reach a common position.
