Millions of EU citizens are in favour of abolishing daylight savings, suggests a public consultation launched by the European Commission. (Credit: Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)
The European Commission will recommend that the biannual change between standard and daylight saving time be abolished across the European Union.
“Millions of citizens said they don’t want to keep changing the clocks any more. The EU Commission will do what they say. Legislative proposal to follow,” Mina Andreeva, a spokesperson for Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, tweeted on Friday.
The Finnish government has been one of the more vocal proponents of abolishing summer-time arrangements across the 28-country bloc, presenting earlier this year a document justifying its opposition to the seasonal exercise to the European Commission.
German newspapers reported yesterday that up to 80 per cent of respondents to a public consultation support abolishing daylight saving.
The European Commission launched the non-binding consultation as part of its review of the summer time directive. While it has not shed light on the results of the consultation, it has revealed that roughly 4.6 million people participated, according to Politico.
Anne Berner, the Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications, said in January the member states should decide together which time – standard or daylight savings time – to switch to on a permanent basis.
“We carried out a survey, millions responded and believe that in future summer time should be year-round. And that’s what will happen,” Juncker told ZDF, the public broadcasting company of Germany.
