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Spain Moves to Revive EU Bid to End Seasonal Clock Changes

Spain plans to table the idea at an EU ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg this week to revive a plan that stalled after 2019 parliamentary backing.

Overview

  • Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in a video on X that he will press the EU to scrap twice-yearly clock changes, calling the practice outdated, inefficient and harmful to health.
  • The Socialist-led government intends to present the proposal to the EU Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council in Luxembourg this week, a forum that handles time policy because it affects the single market, energy use and transport safety.
  • An EU-wide consultation in 2018 found 84% of respondents favored ending seasonal time shifts, and the European Parliament supported the move in 2019 before member states let the effort lapse.
  • Spain’s conservative Popular Party criticized the timing, with spokeswoman Cuca Gamarra calling the proposal a diversion from domestic political troubles.
  • Ending daylight saving would force choices on permanent time, with scenarios changing Spain’s time gap with the UK, and Minister Félix Bolaños signaled the government wants flexibility in that debate.