EU parliament votes to stop moving clocks forward

Brussels: The European Parliament has voted to stop moving clocks forward an hour in spring and back again in the autumn. Politicians passed the measure by 410 votes to 192 – meaning seasonal time shifts, which were introduced during World War One to save energy, will end in 2021. A final law will be produced after discussions with member nations, but the UK government has indicated it will stick to the current system after Brexit. Supporters of scrapping daylight saving time point to scientific studies that have linked the twice-yearly changes to illness because of how they interrupt biological cycles. During a debate on Monday, Marita Ulvskog MEP told the European Parliament: “New technology and different ways of living mean that we no longer earn anything (from time change), in fact we don’t save.” Under an EU directive, all 28 states currently switch to summer time on the last Sunday of March and back to winter time on the last Sunday of October. From April 2021, governments opting to make summer time permanent would adjust their clocks for the last time on the last Sunday of March 2021. For those choosing permanent standard time – also called winter time – the final clock change would be on the last Sunday of October 2021. US lawmakers have tried unsuccessfully to abolish seasonal time changes. Russia moved to permanent summer time in 2011 in an attempt to improve citizens’ well-being, but changed to permanent winter time in 2014 after public complaints. The majority of countries outside Europe and North America do not adjust their clocks.