Germany Will Turn Clocks Back to Winter Time as EU Reform Stalls

Diverging choices between jurisdictions that moved to permanent time and the EU lack of consensus leave unresolved questions about health effects, energy savings, cross‑border coordination.

Overview

Germany will shift from summer to winter time on the night of Oct. 24–25, 2026, when clocks are moved from 03:00 to 02:00.
The European Commission published summer‑time start and end dates through 2031, but member states in the Council have not agreed to end the twice‑yearly change.
British Columbia ended the semiannual switch in 2026, using UTC−7 year‑round after its last adjustment on March 8, 2026, illustrating a growing policy divergence.
Germany's PTB supplies legal time with atomic clocks and most devices adjust automatically, while transport operators such as Deutsche Bahn follow specific procedures that can still cause schedule quirks for night and spring services.
Research increasingly shows only small net energy savings from clock changes and rising evidence of sleep and mental‑health harms, which complicates the political push for a uniform long‑term solution across the EU.