In Finland, the clocks will be moved back one hour on Sunday evening, which was to be the last time.
In 2019, the European Parliament, by a clear majority of 410 to 192, decided to end the use of summer time permanently from 2021 onwards.
The process then moved to the EU Council of Ministers, where the final decision is still pending.
"The Council of the EU has 27 member states, each with its own internal discussions and reports. There are no concrete views yet on whether the clock change will end." Maria Rautavirta The Ministry of Transport and Communications told Yle and added that the Covid pandemic has further slowed progress.
"It has certainly had an impact on the issues raised in the negotiations. All urgent matters have been prioritized and others moved to wait for slightly less busy times," he said.
Although the Finnish authorities are in favor of ending the practice, other EU countries are less enthusiastic. Rautavirta pointed out that the EU Council has not addressed the issue since Finland held its six-month presidency of the EU Council in 2019.
Opinions on the issue are divided both between and within member states, and Rautavirta added that not all nations see the move of clocks as necessary or timely.
"No country has taken the debate forward. At the moment, there is no prospect of an EU presidency for which it would be so important to put it on the agenda." a ministry official said.
Daylight saving time or winter time?
The biennial transfer of clocks – forward in spring and autumn and back – has been regulated uniformly throughout the EU since 2002 and was widely practiced before that.
Finland has followed this practice since 1981 and was the last European country.
Clocks are changed in all EU countries on the same day and at the same time to avoid confusion, for example in international train and air traffic. Changes are always made on the last Sunday in March and October.
If the practice ends, each EU country is free to choose which time zone it wants to belong to, in which case the Finnish government must decide whether to propose the inclusion of summer or winter time as the official permanent standard.
The matter would then ultimately be resolved by a parliamentary vote.
According to Yle’s information, the government would probably gather the opinions of experts in the field as well as the public. In 2018, the Ministry of Justice conducted a survey of peopleโs preferences, with a small majority in favor of making winter time permanent.
A separate citizens โinitiative in 2019 calling for a permanent transition of the government to summer time received more than 50,000 signatures.
However, according to Rautavirta, the decision is influenced by many different factors.
"We consider it important to look at how our neighbors intend to proceed," He said, adding that the proposal is unlikely to move forward in the EU Council of Ministers, at least next year.
This means that changing the clocks back and forth will continue for at least a few years.
Source: The Nordic Page