It would be a much better idea to keep daylight saving but have the change take place on Good Friday each year because most people would then be off work for four days. This would almost certainly reduce the risks of cardiovascular incidents and tiredness.<doc-sep>When Benjamin Franklin suggested Parisians could save candle wax by rising with the sun instead of around noon, the 18th-century polymath couldn’t have imagined the debate over what time its citizens kept would still vex European nations in 2018. But more than 230 years later, the European Union is proposing to abolish the twice yearly clock change that extends daylight hours in summer evenings and makes winter mornings brighter, after a poll found Europeans overwhelmingly dislike the effects of altering their watches by an hour each spring and fall. “If you ask the citizens you have to do what they want,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said about daylight-saving time. Photo: pool new/Reuters “The debate over summertime, wintertime has existed for many years,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told German television Friday. It has pitted those who think the switch disrupts sleep, causes traffic accidents, harms health and productivity against those who say it saves energy in summer and allows workers to commute to work in daylight during the winter months. The preliminary results of a survey published Friday found that 84% of the 4.6 million respondents supported keeping the clocks the same in summer and winter. In Finland, on the northernmost edge of the EU where daylight is almost perpetual in summer and reduced to a few hours in winter, 95% were in favor of scrapping the time change, which has been mandated by European law since 1996. In Greece, located to the south of the bloc, opinion was divided, with 44% of respondents supporting the status quo. Three time zones operate across the EU but all countries currently change their clocks on the last Sunday of March and the final Sunday of October. The U.S. makes a similar switch but does so slightly earlier and later, in line with the 2005 Energy Policy Act, which extended daylight saving by four weeks in 2007. A study published in 2015 in The Review of Economics and Statistics estimated that extending daylight-saving time resulted in $59 million in annual social cost savings from avoided robberies because increased daylight hours into the evening reduced crime rates. The rate of response to the EU’s survey varied across the 28 members of the EU. Germany had the highest proportion of respondents, with 3.79% of the population answering questions about the time change. In the U.K., which is leaving the bloc in March, just 0.02% of people filled in the online questionnaire. The survey asked respondents to say why they wanted to keep or scrap the time change and gave them options including energy saving, human health, leisure activities in the evening and road safety. If European lawmakers and member states agree, EU members could choose whether to remain in daylight-saving time—known in the bloc as “summertime”, or be on “wintertime” with lighter mornings the whole year through. A sunset in France. In an EU poll about daylight-saving time, many Europeans said they would choose to remain on summertime hours, with daylight extending into the evening. Photo: ludovic marin/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Millions of survey respondents thought that summertime should exist all year and that is what will happen, Mr. Juncker said. “If you ask the citizens you have to do what they want.” The historic reason for observing daylight-saving time is to conserve energy by pushing sunlight forward into the evening, reducing the need for electric lights. Germany introduced daylight-saving time during World War I and in response, Britain passed the 1916 Daylight Saving Act as an austerity measure. In the U.S., the first national daylight saving law took effect in March 1918. Benjamin Franklin didn’t suggest a change in time for Parisians, but in his 1784 letter to the Journal of Paris, he proposed the city’s inhabitants could make economies by waking before their usual habit of noon and going to bed earlier to make the most of natural light. Matthew J. Kotchen, a professor of economics at Yale University who has studied the impact of daylight-saving time on energy consumption, said that daylight saving had little impact on energy use in the modern age, and may even increase it. “There may be reasons why you would want to switch to daylight saving for people to be able to stay outdoors longer in the evening, but as a policy for saving energy, the evidence suggests that it may increase energy demand rather than decrease it,” Mr. Kotchen said. Since heating and cooling homes consumes more energy than lighting them, a switch to earlier wake-up times could mean greater energy use as people turn on heaters. “In locations at the western edges of time zones, daylight-saving time makes people wake up at a darker and colder part of the day,” he added. “Then, if this is a time of year when they use heating, and they adjust their thermostats throughout the day, they may use more energy than they otherwise would have.” —Robert Wall contributed to this article. Write to Joanna Sugden at joanna.sugden@wsj.com<doc-sep>(CNN) The European Union is to propose ending twice-yearly clock changes after a large-scale public survey, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Friday. According to Juncker, more than 80% of EU citizens want to abolish daylight saving time and instead remain on the time used during summer instead. At the moment, each EU member state puts clocks forward one hour on the last Sunday of March and back again on the last Sunday in October. "This debate about summertime, wintertime has been around for many years here," Juncker told German broadcaster ZDF. "Many people are contributing to this debate. We did a survey, a public survey. Millions responded and think that in the future we should have summertime all year round. So that's what will happen." Read More<doc-sep>Switching the clocks by an hour between summer and winter time may soon be a thing of the past in the European Union, European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker announced on Friday. He said that the decision was taken after a vast majority of EU citizens — primarily from Germany — who took part in a survey on the issue called for an end to biannual clock changes. Massive support for halting daylight saving time Over 80 percent of respondents supported abolishing changing the clocks in summer and winter in a survey that ran between July 4 and August 16, according to media reports on the results. Some 4.6 million people took part in the online survey, making it the largest one in EU history. The survey particularly struck a chord with Germans, with three million taking part. 'The people want it, we'll do it' Speaking to German public broadcaster ZDF, Juncker said that he would push for the changing of clocks to be abolished and that the Commission "will decide on it today." "We carried out a survey, millions responded and believe that in future, summer time should be year-round, and that's what will happen," Juncker told ZDF, adding: "The people want it, we'll do it." Christian Lindner, the head of Germany's business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), welcomed Juncker's support of the measure. "Good news that the clock changes will finally be abolished — it was annoying," Lindner wrote on Twitter. In February, the FDP proposed a motion in the EU parliament to end daylight saving time, arguing that the time change should have made better use of daylight. 8 German words about time Zeitumstellung This is what happens every year in October and March: Zeitumstellung, or time change. Many people hate it, but others see Zeitumstellung as a reminder that even if we are all bound by time, twice a year we act like we can change it. In Europe, it could all disappear in the future, following an EU vote on eliminating it. But let's wait and see... Negotiations on the topic have apparently stalled. 8 German words about time Zeitschrift Many other German expressions integrate "Zeit," the word for time. A "Zeitschrift" — literally, time writing, is simply a magazine. Whether it includes political discourse or scantily clad women (now with nipples covered), theoretically a magazine should keep up with the times. 8 German words about time Zeitgeist While Zeitgeist can also be used in English, its direct translation — time spirit — conjures up images of Charles Dickens' Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present. Referring to the philosophical idea that each era is characterized by particular ways of thinking, the concept of Zeitgeist dates back to 18th-century philosophers and is often associated with Johann Gottfried Herder. 8 German words about time Mahlzeit Like time itself, food is elementary to the human existence. A "Mahlzeit" simply means "meal time," and can refer to breakfast, lunch or dinner. But it's also used to wish someone else the maximum amount of pleasure while eating. Next time you see a friend chomping down on a sandwich, you can say, "Mahlzeit!" 8 German words about time Hochzeit It's often referred to as the happiest day of your life. In German, it's also a "high time" — a "Hochzeit." Who isn't high on adrenaline and emotion on that day of all days, on which your credit card debt reaches an all-time high? And for some impatient mothers-in-law, it certainly may be "high time" for that son to finally get hitched. 8 German words about time Sauregurkenzeit It's "pickle time!" I'll have a BLT and some chips with that pickle, please... Actually the term "Sauregurkenzeit" originally, in the 18th century, referred to periods when little food was available. Now, it's used during the summer when everyone's on vacation, politics comes to a standstill, the streets are empty, and things get quiet. Pickle anyone? 8 German words about time Zeitgenosse While "Genosse" means "comrade" and has a communist after-taste, a "Zeitgenosse" is anyone who lives at the same time you do: a contemporary. Just think: You are a "Zeitgenosse" of Angela Merkel, Heidi Klum and Cristiano Ronaldo. Your co-worker may not cheer, though, if you tell him he's your "time comrade." 8 German words about time Zeitgefühl German often has a single word for a concept English needs a phrase to express. "Zeitgefühl" is your sense of time — something that suffers when you're concentrating on an important project, staring into the eyes of your sweetheart, or changing the clocks back for daylight savings. Your Zeitgefühl may say it's 8:00 am, but it's really only 7:00. So go back to sleep already! Author: Kate Müser Controversial clock changes: Those who support daylight saving time argue that the longer hours of daylight in the summer helps to save energy and boost productivity. Opponents argue that it can be difficult to adapt to the change and that it has short-term negative impacts on people's health. The European Commission also found that there are only minimal energy savings from the time changes. The EU's March-October switch: Several of the EU's member states have had daylight saving time for decades. The EU issued a series of directives starting in 1981 to govern clock changes across the bloc. Member states are currently obliged to move the clock forward by one hour in March and back one hour in October. What happens next: Those who are looking forward to future undisturbed sleep will have to wait a while longer. The European Commission, the EU's top executive body, will need to agree on the measure and put forward a draft law on abolishing daylight saving time. The EU Parliament and the bloc's currently 28 Member States would also then need to approve the measure. The Commission is set to release the official results of the online poll, which experienced several technical problems due to the high level of interest when it was first launched online. rs/rt (AFP, dpa, Reuters) Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism.<doc-sep>
The European commission will recommend that EU member states abandon the practice of changing the clocks in spring and autumn, with many people in favour of staying on summer time throughout the year. Jean-Claude Juncker, the commission’s president, said a recent consultation had shown that more than 80% of EU citizens were in favour of the move. “We carried out a survey, millions responded and believe that in future, summer time should be year-round, and that’s what will happen,” he told the German broadcaster ZDF. “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.” Any change would need approval from national governments and the European parliament to become law. The proposed directive could fall foul of the Republic of Ireland’s government, however, as it would open up the potential for the Republic to run on a different time to Northern Ireland for seven months of the year. Another potential outcome would be that mainland Britain and Northern Ireland would operate in different time zones after Brexit. Under current EU legislation, citizens in all 28 EU countries have been required to move their clocks an hour forward on the last Sunday in March and switch back to winter time on the final Sunday in October. The online poll suggested that more than 80% of Europeans were against the biannual ritual of changing the clocks, a practice used across most of Europe and North America. Proponents of daylight saving have said the longer evening daylight hours in the summer help save energy and bolster productivity. But opponents have argued that some people cannot easily adapt to the change and feel it has a short-term negative impact on their health. Finland, which has the most northerly EU national capital, has called for the bloc to drop the biannual switch, while Lithuania has urged a review of the system to take into account regional and geographical differences. “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 commission said. “However, some also ask that the current system be maintained, as they believe it has positive effects.” The commission said in the consultation it had two choices: to keep the current EU summertime arrangements, or to drop the biannual changes and allow individual member states to decide whether they wanted to adopt permanent summer or winter time, or a different time. Outside the EU, a handful of European countries have stopped switching between summer and winter time, including Russia, Turkey, Belarus and Iceland. Issues of clocks, hours and working days are much discussed in Spain, which has been stranded in the wrong time zone for decades. In 2013, a parliamentary commission recommended that Spain shift its clocks back one hour. Although the country used to be on the same time as the UK and Portugal, it has run an hour ahead since 1942, when Gen Francisco Franco moved it forward in solidarity with Hitler’s Germany. The commission also suggested that the long Spanish working day – including a two- or three-hour lunch break – be altered to resemble the 9am to 5pm model. Spain’s new socialist government signalled its support for the move on Friday afternoon. “Maybe Spain should be in a different time zone,” said the foreign minister, Josep Borrell. “Frankly, I don’t know. Let’s give the European parliament the chance to see whether it is capable of finding a common denominator among countries that are in such different geographic situations.”