Foto: BB.LV / Часы на фоне флага Евросоюза
The European Union may revisit the issue of abolishing seasonal clock changes as early as next year. Lithuania intends to organize a vote on this matter at the end of June 2027, shortly before the end of its presidency in the EU Council. According to the BNS agency, citing the Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communications, the relevant question has already been included in the proposed agenda for the presidency, although final approval from the Lithuanian Seimas is still pending. Vice Minister of Transport Lukas Paskievicius stated that the first discussions at the level of transport ministers from EU countries are scheduled for February. "In February 2027, we will discuss this issue at an informal meeting of EU transport ministers, and already at the end of our presidency, in June, there will be a vote on it. We will see what the decision will be," he said. According to the vice minister, Lithuania's main task at the initial stage was to bring the issue back onto the agenda of European institutions. Previously, several countries showed little interest in resuming discussions, which effectively stalled the process of abolishing the clock change. However, now, as Paskievicius claims, there is no serious resistance to including this issue in Lithuania's presidency agenda. "Our main plan was to include this issue in the agenda, as we heard that many member states did not want to do this. Currently, there is no such resistance that would prevent this issue from being included in Lithuania's presidency agenda. A lot of work has already been done," he noted. The Lithuanian side has already discussed the initiative with representatives from France, Spain, Germany, the Nordic countries, and Members of the European Parliament. An important stage of preparation will be a study by the European Commission, the results of which are expected in February 2027. The Commission is to assess how the abandonment of seasonal clock changes could affect the economy, healthcare, agriculture, and other areas. The study will cover all EU countries, including Lithuania. At the same time, the main obstacle remains the lack of a unified position on what time should be kept permanently. Some countries would prefer to keep summer time so that it stays light longer in the evenings. According to Paskievicius, this approach is particularly characteristic of Southern European countries. However, for Northern countries, permanent summer time could create additional inconveniences. "The biggest problems this issue causes are for the Nordic countries, especially Finland, where there is already so little natural light in winter. With permanent summer time, mornings there would become even darker," the vice minister explained. Lithuania, for its part, advocates primarily for the cessation of the practice of changing the clocks twice a year. "We are striving to abolish seasonal clock changes, regardless of whether summer or winter time is chosen. Most residents of Lithuania express a desire to remain on summer time in surveys," emphasized Paskievicius. The discussion about abolishing the clock change has been ongoing in the EU for several years. Back in 2018, the European Commission proposed to abandon seasonal time changes, and in 2019, the European Parliament supported this initiative. However, a final decision has yet to be made, as EU countries have been unable to agree on a common position. Now Lithuania hopes to use its presidency in the EU Council, which will last from January to June 2027, to revive the process. If an agreement cannot be reached, Vilnius intends to discuss further actions with Greece, which will take over the presidency of the EU Council in the second half of next year. For now, the current order remains unchanged. In Lithuania, as in Latvia and other EU countries, the clocks continue to change twice a year — in spring for summer time and in autumn for winter time. The last transition took place on the night of Sunday, October 25, when the clocks were set back one hour. Thus, the planned vote in June does not yet mean that the clock change will be abolished in 2027. For this, EU countries will need to reach a political agreement and coordinate the further application of time.
