Why does the time change still exist in 2021? EU country is now putting pressure: "Harmful regime"

The clocks will also be changed in 2021.

The EU has been discussing an end to the time change for years.

An end to the debate does not seem in sight.

Brussels - On the night of October 31, the time has come again: The time is changed from 3 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Means: On this day you can sleep an hour longer, but it gets dark earlier in the evening.

Twice a year, the clock is turned not only in Germany, but in most European countries.

But that should be the end of it long ago.

The time change has become a political issue.

Time change should actually be abolished in 2019

For critics of the time change, the situation is clear: it should be abolished.

The background is also a (unrepresentative) official survey from 2018, in which 84 percent of EU citizens said they would do away with the time change.

At just under four percent, the participation rate was highest in Germany.

Three years ago, the then EU Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker announced: “The time change should be abolished.” First the end was planned for 2019, then for 2021. So far, the 27 EU member states have decided whether they want permanent summer or winter time but not yet clarified.

Because nothing has happened so far, an EU country is now putting pressure on Lithuania.

Lithuania puts pressure on time change: "outdated, ineffective and harmful time change regime"

The Lithuanian Transport Minister Marius Skuodis called on the EU to find a solution to the much discussed issue.

"I consider it essential to take on political responsibility and finally to resolve this question through a joint EU decision," Skuodis wrote in a letter to several EU institutions.

The "outdated, ineffective and harmful clock change regime" must be put to an end, he called for a statement on Wednesday.

It was extremely disappointing that after several years of discussions the EU could not reach an agreement on such a simple proposal.

Lithuania - like Finland and the other two Baltic states Estonia and Latvia as well as Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus - is one hour ahead of Central Europe.

Eastern European Time (EET) applies there instead of Central European Time (CET).

EU: Time change should actually already be abolished

Since 1980 clocks in Germany have been changed twice a year. Back then, summer time as we know it today celebrated its premiere. The time change was originally introduced to save energy costs. The idea: If it is longer light, people need less light, so that less electricity is used. What sounds understandable in theory, however, shows no effect in practice, according to several analyzes.

So why does the time change still exist? A spokesman for the EU Commission recently put it this way: "This question about the seasonal time change is also a seasonal question that we receive twice a year before the time change." Months have repeated: "The ball is now in the field of the member states." You have to clarify whether it should be permanent summer or winter time.

This is not so easy, however, because a common direction seems imperative.

With a patchwork quilt, problems with timetables or other areas threaten.

In addition, there are the EU countries at the edges of the time zones: If the permanent summer time came, it would mean darkness for Spain in winter until shortly before 10 a.m.

If everyone agrees on wintertime, it would already be light in Warsaw at 3 am in summer. The time change twice a year dampens these extremes.

According to a recent survey, Germans increasingly want summer time.

EU: "Time goes by very slowly when it comes to the time change."

So finding a solution is more difficult than first thought.

However, it also appears that the issue has disappeared from the political agenda.

Slovenia currently holds the presidency of the EU states, but a spokeswoman told the German Press Agency that there was “nothing new” about the time change.

There had been no debate on this under the Slovenian Council Presidency since July.

The CSU MEP Markus Ferber criticizes the fact that the EU countries did not make serious efforts to advance the project.

"The discussion among the member states has not even started." The EU Commission says: "Time does indeed go by very slowly when it comes to the time change."