European Commission wants to scrap daylight saving time
The European Commission wants to get rid of daylight saving time in Europe as soon as possible. If Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has his way, Europe will keep their clocks on summer time, as they are now. CDA parliamentarian Annie Schreier-Pierik, whose been fighting for scrapping the biannual time change for years, is happy that something is finally being done, RTL Nieuws reports.
Juncker will argue for sticking to only summer time in the European Commission on Friday. "People want it, we do it", he said, referring to a recent survey among millions of Europeans. A massive 80 percent support scrapping daylight saving time, according to the broadcaster.
According to Juncker, it is pointless to ask for people's opinions and then do nothing about it. If the Commission accepts his proposal, it will be up to the EU member states and the European Parliament to decide whether or not to implement it.
Schreier-Pierik is happy something is finally happening on this front. "The Commission must work on this, the Council must work on this. We can't just keep talking", she said to RTL. "In Europe it should not only be about big things, as Europe you also have to be close to the people. For that you have to listen to them. Three, four years ago I already noted how many people have problems with summer time."
According to the Dutch parliamentarian, daylight saving time disrupts humans' "biological clock", which is a particular problem for families and cattle farmers. There is no hard scientific evidence for that, RTL adds.
