no, this is not the last time

Sunday March 28 is the switch to summer time. A little less sleep therefore, and watches and alarms to be brought forward by an hour. At 2 a.m., it is therefore 3 a.m. The French are accustomed to this biannual change introduced in the country in 1976. This year, it should have been the last change to summer time … And yet it is not for now.

It was the European Commission which proposed, in September 2018, to put an end to the time change everywhere in Europe. The deadline was first set for 2019 before the European Parliament voted to postpone it to 2021. Except that today, the European context has changed. This is what explains Sabine Thillaye, LREM member of Indre et Loire, president of the European Affairs Committee of the National Assembly: “The reform is blocked because of the change in political priorities: the current health crisis of course but also Brexit. It must be remembered that the last time European ministers met on this topic was on December 2 2019 “

It is coordination between countries that is the problem. Because this reform can be very complicated to put in place in a cross-border region for example, it can impact transport and trade in particular.

Sabine Thillaye LREM Member of Indre et Loire, President of the European Affairs Committee of the National Assembly

franceinfo

Indeed, each Member State must decide whether to stay in summer time or winter time. All of Europe will therefore not necessarily be at the same time when the reform is applied, and that is not for tomorrow. Two years ago, during an online consultation launched by the National Assembly, more than two million French people spoke on the subject. Daylight saving time was preferred at 59%.