As the next switch to winter time approaches, the question of why Europe continues to “adjust the clocks” twice a year has returned to the agenda.In the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, a large video screen displays cities from other parts of the world in real time. While one city enjoys the early afternoon, another is already shrouded in evening twilight. At the end of October, Lithuania and the rest of the European Union will once again turn their clocks back by an hour, reverting to standard—or winter—time.For some Lithuanians, this annual transition has long been a source of annoyance. One woman told LRT that she dislikes changing the clock. She noted that while it feels like gaining an extra hour, just as one gets used to it, things have to change again; she would really like a definitive decision to be made on which time system to keep. Another passerby agreed, stating that a choice simply needs to be made. He argued that there is no need to switch the clock back and forth—a permanent time setting is needed, whether it be winter or summer time.Lithuania’s Minister of Transport, Juras Taminskas, shares this view. Since the beginning of the year, he has been trying to persuade the Baltic and Nordic states to end this practice. The minister joked that even his dog is confused by the changing of the clocks. He recalled the old saying that cows do not understand the time shift, noting that his dog doesn’t understand it either—when the time changes, the dog ends up being taken for a walk at a different hour.Taminskas hopes to get the issue on the agenda when Lithuania takes over the Presidency of the Council of the EU in January. The minister acknowledged that reaching an agreement would not be easy, particularly with Southern European countries. However, he added that given the current political climate—with so many important issues and challenges—the inability to agree on something so simple, yet something that has affected citizens emotionally, physiologically, and physically for decades, is, to put it mildly, embarrassing.Meanwhile, Luminor chief economist Žygimantas Mauricas takes a more pessimistic view. He stated that, given the general difficulty of reaching agreements on other matters, success on this issue is unlikely. The biggest obstacle is reportedly not the lack of consensus on ending time changes, but rather the disagreement over which time—winter or summer—to keep.For Lithuania, the choice is complex. Summer time would provide more light in the evenings and be more beneficial for public health, as people would receive more sunlight. However, there are also economic considerations. Like Latvia, Estonia, and Finland, Lithuania is in the Eastern European time zone, whereas parts of the rest of Europe are an hour behind. Sharing the same time zone as major trading partners can simplify cross-border transactions; Mauricas noted that Germany is particularly important to Lithuania.At the same time, geography is a fixed factor. Spain and Poland are separated by nearly 3,000 kilometers yet share the same time zone. Mauricas described this as essentially absurd, noting that it means Spain sacrifices morning daylight hours, while Poland loses daylight in the evenings. If Lithuania were to adopt winter time to align with Poland, evenings would be darker; while this would be economically advantageous, it would also spark public dissatisfaction. Mauricas stated that sticking to winter time would generate even more complaints than the practice of changing the clocks. His calculations indicate that by remaining on winter time, Lithuania would lose about 40 minutes of evening daylight.Taminskas stated that a decision should be reached through a joint vote, with the majority view prevailing. The minister noted that Lithuania has already held initial discussions with Latvia, Estonia, and the Nordic countries regarding the retention of summer time. Public opinion polls in Lithuania consistently show support for keeping summer time.Read the full article in English here: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/3073172/as-clocks-turn-back-lithuania-renews-its-push-to-end-europe-s-time-change-debate
Lithuanians revive the debate on ending the practice of seasonal time change
