Citizens of the European Union (EU) are about to experience the change of winter time, an event that always generates controversy. This Saturday, October 28, clocks will be turned back one hour throughout the EU, complying with community regulation.
In other words, on the night from Saturday to Sunday, Europeans will enjoy an extra hour of sleep, as clocks will be set to show 2:00 instead of 3:00 in countries like Spain.
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Even in the Canary Islands, which maintain an hour difference with respect to peninsular time, this time change will apply. This time change in Europe is a phenomenon that occurs twice a year, generally on the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October. It was first popularized in 1974 in response to the first oil crisis, when some European countries advanced their clocks to make better use of sunlight and reduce electricity consumption.
This weekend, two Member States, Ireland and Portugal, will adjust to GMT time, while other countries such as Spain, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Croatia and the Netherlands will set their clocks to GMT+1. On the other hand, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania will set the time back to GMT+2.
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The idea of ending time change gained traction in 2018, when the European Commission proposed this measure after receiving a record 4.6 million responses in a public survey. 84% of European citizens expressed their desire to end this practice. In March 2019, the European Parliament endorsed the Commission’s proposal.
However, the abolition of the time change requires an agreement between the two EU co-legislators, the European Parliament and the Council (made up of the Member States), before it can come into force. Despite the obvious public demand, the debate on this issue is still ongoing.
The time change has always generated conflicting opinions in society. While some defend its benefits to make better use of the hours of light, others question its usefulness and warn about possible harm to health.
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*This content was rewritten with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on information published by EFE, and was reviewed by the journalist and an editor.
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