EU Revives Push to End Seasonal Clock Changes, Launches New Study

With the clocks set to spring forward across the European Union on March 29, the European Commission has signalled that it has not given up on scrapping the biannual time change altogether — and has commissioned a new study to support the effort.

Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen confirmed on Friday that the study should be completed by the end of 2026, providing updated evidence to help member states reach the consensus that has eluded them since the issue first came to a head in 2018.

"A coordinated solution for the time change is still possible," Itkonen said in a written response to the Lusa news agency. "We have launched a study to support this decision-making process."

Eight Years and Counting

The saga stretches back to September 2018, when the Commission proposed abolishing the seasonal adjustment after a public consultation drew 4.6 million responses — 84 per cent of which favoured ending the practice. The European Parliament voted in support in 2019, calling for the change to be implemented by 2021.

But the proposal has been stuck in the Council of the EU ever since. Member states could not agree on whether to keep permanent summer time or permanent winter time, and the file has gathered dust through successive rotating presidencies.

The core difficulty is geographic. Countries in southern Europe, including Portugal, tend to favour permanent summer time, which would mean lighter evenings year-round. Northern member states worry that permanent summer time would leave them in darkness until late morning during winter months.

Portugal's Particular Case

For Portugal, the debate carries special weight. Already on the western edge of the Central European time zone's influence — Portugal actually uses Western European Time, the same as the United Kingdom — the country's relationship with daylight is different from that of most EU members.

Portuguese residents who moved from central or northern Europe often notice the difference acutely. Lisbon's sunset in late December falls around 5:15 PM, already later than cities like Berlin or Amsterdam. Under permanent summer time, that would shift to 6:15 PM — appealing for evening activities but meaning sunrise would not come until nearly 9:00 AM in midwinter.

The question matters practically for anyone managing schedules across borders. Parents coordinating with schools, remote workers aligned to central European offices, and businesses trading internationally would all feel the effects of any change — or of the status quo continuing indefinitely.

What Happens Next

Cyprus, which holds the EU Council presidency until June, has indicated willingness to present the Commission's study to the relevant working group once it is available, though a spokesperson cautioned it may not be ready before the presidency ends.

If history is any guide, the study alone will not break the deadlock. But the Commission's decision to commission fresh research suggests Brussels believes the political conditions may be shifting. Energy considerations — the original rationale for daylight saving time — have taken on new urgency amid Europe's ongoing energy transition.

For now, the clocks will change as scheduled on March 29. Whether it will be one of the last times remains, as it has for nearly a decade, an open question.