The debate

Time change: what happened to the proposal to abolish it in Europe?

After being voted in favour by the European Parliament in 2019, the proposal remained blocked due to divisions between the Member States. Spain is now trying to reopen the issue

by Massimo De Laurentiis

24 October 2025

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The video released on X by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, in which he calls it "meaningless" to move the hands twice a year, has rekindled a discussion that had long seemed closed. The Socialist leader has brought back into the spotlight a topic that often returns to the debate but remains unresolved: the possibility of definitively abolishing the change between summer and winter time in Europe.

The Origins of the Debate

The idea of doing away with the time change is not a recent one. The proposal began to take shape in 2018, when the European Commission, then chaired by Jean-Claude Juncker, launched a public consultation to gauge citizens' opinion on the issue. 4.6 million people took part in the survey, of whom 84% were in favour of abolishing the six-monthly change, with peaks of 93% in Spain.

On the basis of these results, the Commission proposed to the European Parliament to put an end to the system, leaving the Member States free to choose between keeping solar time or summer time.

On 26 March 2019, the hemicycle passed the motion with 410 votes in favour, 192 against and 51 abstentions. In the official communiqué, the parliament announced that each member state would decide on its own standard timetable and that the last seasonal change would take place in 2021.

At that point, the matter was left to negotiations between the EU Parliament and Council, the body that brings together the competent ministers of all EU governments. It was here that the process came to a halt: several states were sceptical, fearing that the removal of the time change without precise coordination could create confusion.

Countries such as Finland and Poland, although in favour of the reform, raised concerns about the health effects of summer time. Portugal and Greece came out strongly against abolition. Italy also maintained a cautious stance and preferred to preserve the status quo.

Shortly afterwards, with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Union's priority became the management of the health emergency and the subject was pushed to the back burner. The Commission does not have the power to impose a single timetable regime, but only to coordinate the decisions of the individual states, and so the dossier remains at a standstill to this day.

The Return of the Theme and the New Spanish Push

Years later, Spain is now trying to reopen the issue. The topic has been placed on the agenda of the EU Energy Council, taking advantage of the expiry of the EU calendar 2022-2026, which sets the official dates of the change until next year.

A Council note issued on 20 October states: 'The time has come to address this important issue, considering the renewed interest expressed by several Member States a few months ago during the Polish presidency'.

Teresa Ribera, Vice-President of the European Commission and former Spanish minister, also expressed her support for the initiative, saying that this is 'the right time to act'.

What can happen now

Politically, the Spanish initiative is still in the preliminary stages. To proceed, it will need a qualified majority in the Council, i.e. at least 15 out of 27 countries or states representing 65% of the European population. An outcome that is by no means a foregone conclusion, also in view of past difficulties.

For the time being, the end of the time change remains a hypothesis. But the Spanish Prime Minister's appeal has set in motion again a mechanism that seemed to have been forgotten. In any case, the decision must first also pass through new negotiations with the European Parliament and the Council. It is likely that the negotiations, which are usually very lengthy, will extend even beyond 2026, the year in which the European calendar expires.