https://timeuse.barcelona/projects/permanent-time-zones-eu/

Skip to content
Time Use Initiative logo
local and regional governments time network logo
Time Use Initiative logo
 
 

LOCAL AND REGIONAL
GOVERNMENTS
TIME
NETWORK

  * Who we are
      + Staff
      + International Expert Lab
      + Regional Expert Lab
      + Time Networks
      + Our history
      + Transparency
  * Declaration on Time Policies
  * Time Network
      + About the Network
      + Good Practices
          o Good practices by category
          o Institutions
      + World Capital of Time Policies
      + Local and Regional Time Agenda
      + Time4All
      + Network members
  * Projects
      + Current projects
          o Catalan Network for the Right to Time
          o Barcelona Time Agreement
          o Metropolitan Agreement for the Right to Time
          o Permanent time zones in the EU
          o Smart City Expo World Congress
      + Finished projects
          o Lleida's Network for the Time Agreement
          o Network for Time Use Reform in Girona
          o INDTime
  * Events
      + Time Use Week 2023
      + II Foro Iberoamericano de los Horarios y el Tiempo
      + Time, mobility, and sustainability: an opportunity to
        increase resilience
      + Time use surveys in Spain: an academic and social opportunity
      + 2022
          o Life balance: work, care, rest and personal time
          o 1st Ibero-American Time Use Week
          o Time Use Week 2022
      + 2021
          o Time Use Week 2021
      + 2020
          o Healthy Time Use Campaign
          o Time Use Week 2020
      + Previously to 2019
  * Publications
  * Press
      + Media resources
      + Time Use Week 2023 media resources
  * News

Menu

  * Who we are
      + Staff
      + International Expert Lab
      + Regional Expert Lab
      + Time Networks
      + Our history
      + Transparency
  * Declaration on Time Policies
  * Time Network
      + About the Network
      + Good Practices
          o Good practices by category
          o Institutions
      + World Capital of Time Policies
      + Local and Regional Time Agenda
      + Time4All
      + Network members
  * Projects
      + Current projects
          o Catalan Network for the Right to Time
          o Barcelona Time Agreement
          o Metropolitan Agreement for the Right to Time
          o Permanent time zones in the EU
          o Smart City Expo World Congress
      + Finished projects
          o Lleida's Network for the Time Agreement
          o Network for Time Use Reform in Girona
          o INDTime
  * Events
      + Time Use Week 2023
      + II Foro Iberoamericano de los Horarios y el Tiempo
      + Time, mobility, and sustainability: an opportunity to
        increase resilience
      + Time use surveys in Spain: an academic and social opportunity
      + 2022
          o Life balance: work, care, rest and personal time
          o 1st Ibero-American Time Use Week
          o Time Use Week 2022
      + 2021
          o Time Use Week 2021
      + 2020
          o Healthy Time Use Campaign
          o Time Use Week 2020
      + Previously to 2019
  * Publications
  * Press
      + Media resources
      + Time Use Week 2023 media resources
  * News

Proposal on implementing permanent time zones in the European Union

The proven benefits of clocks being aligned with solar time and the
negative impact of misaligned clocks on health, the economy,
education, safety, and the environment urge for the implementation of
permanent time zones as close as possible to solar time (natural
time) in Europe.

The Barcelona Declaration on Time Policies working group to end clock
changes has agreed on a plan to end clock changes and implement
permanent time zones in the EU. The key elements of the proposal are
presented below. Considering the benefits of geographically correct
time zones and the negative consecuences of misaligned clocks:

  * The EU Commission has the responsibility to reactivate the
    political process on this subject.
  * The EU Member States have the responsibility to ratify the EU
    proposal (European Directive on Discontinuing seasonal changes of
    time) and agree to adopt the permanent time zones which are as
    close as possible to their solar time (natural time).

For the European continent there is an easy solution which does not
require a patchwork of time zones. The following map shows the
recommended time zones and steps to be taken for all 27 EU member
states. We are aware that political considerations will need to be
made for those member states that have territories in different time
zones. One possible solution is the one being applied in the case of
Spain and the Canary Islands, that have different time zones. In some
cases, if the territories are close, the same time zone may be used,
even if not geographically correct. This can be the case for the
situation of Northern Ireland and Ireland or France and Corsica.

Specific solutions need to be found for European territories outside
the European continent.

natural time zones in europe

Map: Recommended time zones for the European continent

After agreement of a common date within the EU, we recommend doing
the transition in 1 to 2 steps, depending on the member state:

  * Step 1: All EU countries abolish the clock change to DST in
    spring and remain on the clock time they use in winter. For those
    countries whose recommended time zone is their current standard
    time, no further steps need to be taken.
  * Step 2: Those countries whose recommended time zone is not yet
    their current standard time, additionally turn back their clocks
    one last time by one hour in autumn, in order to adopt their
    recommended time zone as their new standard time.

Would you like to know more?

Read the full document, including a justification for our
recommendation, in English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, and
Portuguese.

Frequently Asked Questions on Daylight Saving Time (DST)

Previous
Next
Infographics in English
Infographics in Spanish
Full FAQs with citations

Endorsers

If you are a representative of an organisation and agree with our
proposal, you can endorse it by answering this questionnaire. Your
logo will be added to our current endorsers below.

[801581_87ac5eb780494278bbc51b803f]
European Economic and
Social Committee
[801581_9fb754bc3e1f42888fce]
International Alliance
for Natural Time
[801581_52487e7a525445409d6d1e03]
European Medical
Association
[801581_151cb1d682094547af5edc]
European Medical
Association
[801581_7967ad0bede64f61ac635d517f]
Good Light Group
[801581_a55445b997a44bbb9bcd4eb6ccbfc54]
Fundacion Estivill Sueno
[801581_5578baa859cf432fad4eb97d8a5896d0_mv2]
Society for Research
on Biological Rhythms
[801581_9a99b0b8fa9e458ea7c4473f71473345_]
German Society
for Time Policies
[801581_b3d8cbd56e2940179036c4153be94ca0]
Association to Delay Time
[801581_845c8bc02be442c8b706b1861029ffe1_mv2]
Spanish Pediatry Association
[801581_60f93c97951f4879bc8ecf6f82e1]
Spanish Federation of Sleep
Medical Societies
[801581_a921650ca34c4dba90ddd7f7]
BioClock Consortium
[801581_26e9593ce6e948]
Choose Healthtime
[801581_2e07bf9ecfa742]
BodyClock
[801581_fbb109cbb6684e]
Better Times
[801581_ca8ab0894f3f462cbe6319f]
Society for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms
[801581_4c49f107b41246c6a52]
Spanish Commission
for Schedules' Rationalisation
[801581_51e0244e8fb948c28e78b65]
Spanish Sleep Society
[801581_4df89c63e9ba48]
Save Standard Time
[801581_21a52d94a0154d]
Betere Tijden
[801581_0cbced19b1b34]
Normalzeit Leben
[801581_4083331e35ae4]
Zeit Gestaltung
[801581_c51cc76b9b994]
Normaltid Altid
[801581_f2c45bc078004]

Belgian Association for Stable, Natural Hour

[801581_99c57eeed3c24]
Zeitenwende
[801581_1d3e85a382f74]
La Meridienne
[EUD-LOGO__RGB_zoom10_bg_white]
Europa-Union Aschaffenburg

Individual experts endorsing the proposal

  * Martha Merrow, Ph.D., Institute of Medical Psychology, LMU of
    Munich (Germany)
  * Till Roenneberg, Ph.D., Institute of Medical Psychology, LMU of
    Munich (Germany)
  * Erik Herzog, Ph.D., Department of Biology, Washington University
    in St. Louis, Missouri (USA)
  * Diego Golombek, Ph.D., Time and Experience Lab, San Andres
    Univeristy, Buenos Aires (Argentina)
  * Gonzalo Pin, M.D., Quiron Hospital Paediatric unit, Valencia
    (Spain)
  * Marijke Gordijn, Ph.D., Department of Chronobiology, University
    of Groningen (The Netherlands)
  * Inge Declercq, M.D., Multidisciplinary Sleep Disorders Centre,
    Antwerp University Hospital (Belgium)
  * Virginie Gabel, Ph.D., COMETE Laboratory, University of Caen,
    Normandy (France)
  * Catia Reis, Ph.D., Environmental Health Institute (ISAMB),
    Medicine Faculty, Lisbon University (Portugal)
  * Teresa Paiva, Ph.D., Environmental Health Institute (ISAMB),
    Medicine Faculty, Lisbon University (Portugal)
  * Anna Wirz-Justice, Ph.D., Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric
    Clinics, University of Basel (Switzerland)
  * Johan Verbraecken, Ph.D., Multidisciplinary Sleep Disorders
    Centre, Antwerp University Hospital (Belgium)
  * Bertus van der Horst, Ph.D., Erasmus University Medical Centre,
    Rotterdam (The Netherlands)
  * Roelof Hut, Ph.D., Department of Chronobiology, University of
    Groningen (The Netherlands)
  * Karin van Rijn, M.Sc., Sleep-Wake Center SEIN, Zwolle (The
    Netherlands)
  * Toine Schoutens, founder of Chrono Eyewear and FluxPlus light
    therapy, Tilburg (The Netherlands)
  * Ilse De Volder, M.D., Multidisciplinary Sleep Disorders Centre,
    Antwerp University Hospital (Belgium)
  * Merijn van de Laar, Ph.D., Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life
    Sciences, University Maastricht (The Netherlands)

If you are a researcher on a field related to clock changes and its
impact, and you would like to endorse our proposal, please contact us
at info@timeuse.barcelona.

Sign up to TUI's newsletter!

* indicates required
[                    ]
[                    ]
[                    ]
Preferred language for receiving communications

  * ( ) English
  * ( ) Catalan
  * ( ) Spanish

Read previous newsletters.

[                    ]
[Subscribe]
  * info@timeuse.barcelona
  * communication@timeuse.barcelona

Instagram Twitter Linkedin Facebook Youtube
Legal Notice | Institutional sponsors
Copyright (c)2023 - Time Use Initiative. All rights reserved.

We use cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can learn more about what cookies we use or disable them in the 
settings.

Accept Reject Settings
Scroll to Top
Change cookie settings
Close GDPR Cookie Settings
[cropped-Logo-BTUI-maxima-qualitat-i-trans]

  * Privacy summary
  * Strictly necessary cookies
  * Cookies de terceros

Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy summary

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best
possible user experience. Cookie information is stored in your
browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you
return to our website or helping our team understand which parts of
the site you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly necessary cookies

Strictly necessary cookies must always be enabled so that we can save
your cookie setting preferences.

Enable or Disable Cookies [*]

If you disable this cookie we will not be able to save your
preferences. This means that each time you visit this website you
will have to enable or disable cookies again.

Cookies de terceros

Esta web utiliza Google Analytics para recopilar informacion anonima
tal como el numero de visitantes del sitio, o las paginas mas
populares.

Dejar esta cookie activa nos permite mejorar nuestra web.

Enable or Disable Cookies [ ]

!Por favor, activa primero las cookies estrictamente necesarias para
que podamos guardar tus preferencias!

Activate all Reject all Save changes