Labour MEP warns of ‘summertime’ time zone chaos

Labour MEP Marlene Mizzi has warned that allowing each member state to choose whether to retain summertime adjustment or not, will cause chaos by not having one standard time.

On Tuesday, MEPs voted on a proposal to end the practice of adjusting clocks by an hour in spring and autumn from 2021, allowing each member state to choose if it wants wintertime or summertime as permanent standard time.

Mizzi voted against this proposal.

“I am not against ending the practice of adjusting clocks by an hour twice a year from 2021. As the PETI spokesperson for the Socialists and Democrats on this file, I proposed three points for consideration: the chosen international time to be what is known today as ‘summer time’; implementation not to be before 2020; and harmonisation of time between member states.

“I am against leaving it up to each and every member state to decide on their own what time they want to keep. In fact this proposal was a red line for me, as allowing member states to adopt different time would only cause chaos,” Mizzi said.

Mizzi said member states will be allowed to create different time-zones, which she said will have an extremely negative impact on the proper functioning of the internal market.

“We cannot give leeway to uncertainty and to patchwork that may lead to a de-harmonization of the internal market, and disruption in trade and travelling, and create complications in the maritime and aviation sectors. This is my main reservation and the reason why I have chosen to vote against this report.”

“As shadow rapporteur for the Petitions Committee, I have tried to address this issue by proposing one single harmonized time, but the vested interests were too high to overcome. Unfortunately the European Parliament proposal undermines what citizens have asked for, and will result in a patchwork of applicable times in the EU, in addition to the established geographical time zones,” Mizzi said.

“I have supported the interest of the citizens from the very beginning till the very end. A public consultation conducted by the Commission indicated that the majority of citizens showed a preference for the end to a bi-annual change of time and a stay on summer time. Unfortunately, Parliament decided otherwise.”