Discontinuing seasonal changes of time

Key points

• The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) takes note of the proposal by the European Commission to repeal seasonal changes of time. The Committee indicates a number of important limitations concerning method, time-scales and content. For these reasons it considers it essential to provide more time for debate and analysis. It is crucial to reach a broad consensus among citizens and the unanimous support of all the Member States to ensure effective, harmonised and consensual implementation of the proposal. The EESC recognises the interest of some European citizens in repealing the current mechanism which established a harmonised bi-annual change of time, as shown in the recent on-line-public consultation. The Committee sees well-conducted on-line public consultation as a tool that can provide indications about public preferences and supplement established democratic processes. It regrets that national governments and organised civil society were not sufficiently consulted prior to the urgent publication of the proposal. The Committee points out that the urgent procedure adopted by the Commission was criticised in several Member States, with citizens considering that the EU's priorities lie elsewhere (the economic crisis, unemployment, immigration, etc.), which may lead to problems with the initiative's social acceptance.