No ‘Fall Back’?: EU Commission Head Gives Support to Dropping Time Change

On Friday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced a recommendation that the EU end seasonal time changes and adopt ‘summer time’ throughout the year.
Sputnik

After the EU Parliament voted in February to evaluate Daylight Saving Time, the European Commission requested public comment on the decision. Over 80 percent of the 4.6 million comments that the Commission received were in favor of ending the unpopular seasonal time changes, Ars Technica reported August 31. 

You Again: Daylight Saving Time and the US States Leading the Charge to End It

"We carried out a survey, millions responded and believe that in the future, summer time should be year-round, and that's what will happen," Juncker told German broadcaster ZDF Friday.

"I will recommend to the commission that, if you ask the citizens, then you have to do what the citizens say. We will decide on this today, and then it will be the turn of the member states and the European parliament."

Once a draft law doing away with seasonal time change is completed by the EU Commission, all 28 EU member country governments, as well as the EU Parliament will need to approve the law.

"The commission regularly receives feedback from citizens on the summertime issue, which often refer to what they perceive as negative health impacts of the disruptive time change relating to sleep deprivation and other kinds of negative consequences," the EU commission recently said, the Guardian reported August 31.

"However, some also ask that the current system be maintained, as they believe it has positive effects."

A new California law — innocuously titled Assembly Bill 807 — was approved by the state Senate Wednesday and seeks to eliminate the use of Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the Golden State.

According to the author of the bill, California Assemblyman Kansen Chu of San Jose, the biannual practice of moving the clock back and forth one hour is now unnecessary, given the state's current energy consumption data.

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