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EU Delays Permanent Daylight Saving Time Decision Amid Pandemic
18 Oct
Summary
- EU Parliament voted to end seasonal time changes in 2019
- EU institutions have not made progress on implementing the decision
- UK's departure from EU raises concerns over two time zones on Ireland
As of October 2025, the future of daylight saving time (DST) in Europe remains uncertain. In March 2019, the European Parliament voted in favor of permanently ending the biannual clock changes, but EU institutions have not made progress on implementing this decision. The proposed directive would have allowed member states to choose between "permanent summer" or "permanent winter" time.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have delayed the EU's plans to abolish DST. Additionally, the UK's departure from the EU has raised concerns over having two different time zones on the island of Ireland. Under the current EU directive, all member states switch to summer time on the last Sunday in March and back to standard time on the last Sunday in October.
Despite the lack of progress at the EU level, some individual countries have continued to observe the biannual clock changes. In Ireland, for example, the clocks will "spring forward" by one hour on March 30, 2025, and "fall back" an hour on October 26, 2025.
