Seasonal clocks are used in many countries to save energy on lighting and for other reasons. Some scientists say that the translation of clocks has a negative effect on people's health; they focus on the fact that the economic benefits of summer time have not yet been proven. Probably, for these or other reasons, the European Parliament voted to end daylight saving time. But before this becomes law, the EU countries will need to work out all the details.
European Union
Daylight saving time has been established in the European Union since 2001. In 2018, EU President Jean-Claude Juncker raised the issue of stopping the translation of clocks twice a year. Changing clocks must stop, and the states that are members of the EU must decide whether their citizens will live in summer or winter time.
According to this proposal, by 2020, each state will choose one of two times, and the changes should take effect in 2021. This proposal was supported by 84% of respondents. But as the BBC notes, 70% of the 4.6 million people were Germans. This likely led to complaints that Germany was trying to impose its will on the rest of Europe. Only in Greece and Cyprus, a small number of respondents preferred to leave everything as it is. And in Finland, Spain, Poland and Lithuania more than 90% of respondents do not agree with the cancellation of the transition to "daylight saving" time.
EU reasoning
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The European Union says that moving the imputation forward one hour in spring will delay sunset until the clock is moved back one hour in the fall. This makes it possible to use natural daylight, which is why this practice is called "summer time". The agreement was first reached during the First World War between Germany and France, and then their allies for reasons of energy conservation, but were later canceled after the war. The agreement was restored in many European countries already in the 70s of the last century in connection with the oil crisis and the related problem of energy conservation.
But the ideas behind the clock change may not work today. After all, energy savings are negligible and the health and safety implications of road traffic are inconclusive. In addition, in agriculture, artificial lighting and automation have reduced the importance of changing times.
Many of the EU's neighbors and trading partners have also decided to change the time, including Iceland, China, Belarus, Russia and Turkey. If a law is passed, then the choice of summer or winter time for any country will actually mean the choice of which time zone it is in.
Russia
In 2011, then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev decided to switch the country to summer time. The BBC reports that at a time when the time change was popular, residents of northern Russia complained about winter mornings that stayed dark for too long, and there were also reports of many car accidents during this time of day. Therefore, Russia went back and switched to constant winter time.
United States
In the United States, the discussion continues. Most of the country lives on daylight saving time, But Hawaii and parts of Arizona don't. Florida wants this to last all year. In 2018, the country's legislature passed a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent in the state. But this is prohibited under the Uniform Time Act of 1966. Early members of the Florida congressional delegation introduced the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make Daylight Saving Time permanent in the United States. But the bills have not yet been passed in parliament.
Some countries offer an alternative to time translation. They propose to shift the start of work at some enterprises for the summer period. That is, in summer the working day should start earlier, and in winter - later, sometimes even 2 hours.
Voloschuk Natal