EU Lawmakers Push to End Seasonal Clock Changes

European clocks will turn back one hour this weekend.

People across Denmark and Sweden will gain an hour of sleep.

However, European Union lawmakers are pushing to abolish seasonal time changes completely.

A group of 44 European Parliament members sent a letter to EU transport ministers.

They asked ministers to break a long deadlock on ending daylight saving time.

The practice began after the 1970s oil crisis to save energy.

EU rules have mandated time changes every March and October since 2001.

In 2018, 84 percent of 4.6 million citizens voted to scrap time changes.

The European Parliament supported ending clock changes back in 2019.

However, EU national governments failed to agree on a permanent time system.

Member states could not decide between permanent summer time or winter time.

German lawmaker Peter Liese led the recent petition to EU transport ministers.

He noted that time changes cause fatigue and sleep disturbances.

He also stated that recent studies question the actual energy savings achieved.

A new EU study on the impacts should finish by the end of this year.

For now, residents in Copenhagen and Stockholm must still adjust clocks twice yearly.

Reporting by The Local.