Is it time to stop changing the clocks in Europe?

At the end of March, people across Europe will put their clocks forward, ensuring an extra hour of daylight and heralding the start of long summer evenings. 

But a growing number of people are calling on the European Union to abolish changing the clocks entirely. 

A majority of French people support the move. 

The European Parliament voted in 2019 to end daylight saving time; the practice of putting the clocks forward by an hour in springtime and back by an hour in autumn. But it has yet to implement the change. 

Some 84% of European citizens are in favour of stopping the twice-yearly clock change according to a 2018 public consultation by the European Commission that received 4.6 million responses from across every member state. 

The vast majority of people (76%) said they found the clock changes “very negative” or “negative”. 

Research shows changing the clocks can impact health negatively in a range of ways, from road accidents to heart attacks and an increase in depression. 

History of daylight savings time 

Daylight savings time is a relatively modern phenomenon. Germany was the first country to adopt the practice in 1916, followed shortly after by the UK, France and many other nations fighting in the First World War. Extending daylight hours helped to save fuel and energy. 

France kept the practice until 1945, and introduced it again in 1976 because of the 1973 oil crisis. Energy prices were soaring, so the government saw the clock change as a way to save energy, giving everyone an extra hour of sunlight. 

Daylight saving time was harmonised throughout the European Union in 1996, with every country putting their clocks forward by one hour on the last Sunday of March, and back by one hour on the last Sunday of October. 

What now?

So what is stopping the European Parliament from scrapping daylight saving time? 

The main reason is that member states cannot agree on the change; some support it and some do not. 

Germans are the most in favour of scrapping daylight saving time, according to a YouGov Eurotrack survey in 2023, which questioned people in the UK, France, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden.

It found differences in people’s views on changing the clocks. 

While 75% of Germans want to scrap daylight saving time, compared to 18% who want to retain it, a lower percentage of French support the move (49%), still more than want to retain it (36%).

But Italians support keeping daylight saving time, by 56% to 32%. 

There is more agreement on whether, if the clock change is scrapped, the EU should remain on winter time or summer time. 

All countries surveyed, except for Sweden, would prefer to stay on summertime hours., keeping those longer summer evenings. 

Passing the legislation needed to stop changing the clocks in the EU requires support of a qualified majority of the Council of the European Union, which means at least 15 member states. Only then can member states and MEPs negotiate a final text. 

Irish MEP Seán Kelly, Chair of the European Parliament’s Working Group on the Bi-Annual Clock Change, has long called for the end of daylight saving time.

In October 2025, Mr Kelly urged the Danish presidency of the Council of the EU to relaunch negotiations. 

“The seasonal clock change is an outdated and unnecessary practice that serves no real benefit to citizens or the economy in 2025,” he said. 

“Scientific evidence shows that switching the clocks twice a year disrupts sleep, increases health risks such as heart attacks, and even leads to more traffic accidents. Meanwhile, the promised energy savings have failed to materialise. It is time we left it in the past and moved on.”

There could be a spark of hope in the future, as Lithuania may raise the issue again during its presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2027, according to an adviser to President Gitanas Nausėda. 

“It is difficult to say when all countries will agree on the final abolition of daylight saving time, but it is possible to discuss this issue, to raise it again,” Irena Segalovičienė told Lithuanian radio in March 2025. 

She added the tense geopolitical situation meant the issue had not been a priority.