COMMON POSITION (EC) No 19/97 adopted by the Council on 14 April 1997 with a view to adopting the eighth Directive 97/. . ./EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of . . . on summer-time arrangements (97/C 157/03)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 189b of the Treaty (3),

Whereas seventh Directive 94/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 on summer-time arrangements (4) introduced a common date and time throughout the Community for the beginning of summer-time in 1995, 1996 and 1997; whereas the seventh Directive retained two different dates for the end of summer-time in 1995, one for Member States other than Ireland and the United Kingdom and one for Ireland and the United Kingdom, but none the less introduced a common date and time for the end of summer-time in 1996 and 1997;

Whereas, given that the Member States apply summer-time arrangements, it is important for the functioning of the internal market that a common date and time for the beginning and end of the summer-time period be fixed throughout the Community;

Whereas, with regard to the principle of subsidiarity, Community action is necessary to ensure complete harmonization of the timetable with a view to facilitating transport and communications;

Whereas the date considered most appropriate by Member States for the end of the summer-time period is the end of October; whereas this date should therefore be maintained;

Whereas Article 4 of the seventh Directive lays down that the European Parliament and the Council must adopt by 1 January 1997 the arrangements to apply from 1998 onwards;

Whereas, for geographical reasons, common summer-time arrangements should not apply to the overseas territories of the Member States;

Whereas, for reasons of timetabling, particularly in the transport and communications sectors, the timing of summer-time arrangements should be set for a sufficiently long period; whereas provisions should accordingly be adopted for 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

For the purposes of this Directive, 'summer-time period` shall mean the period of the year during which clocks are put forward by 60 minutes compared with the rest of the year.

Article 2

In each Member State the summer-time period for 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 shall begin at 1 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on the last Sunday in March, i.e.:

- in 1998: on 29 March,

- in 1999: on 28 March,

- in 2000: on 26 March,

- in 2001: on 25 March.

Article 3

In each Member State the summer-time period for 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 shall end at 1 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time on the last Sunday in October, i.e.:

- in 1998: on 25 October,

- in 1999: on 31 October,

- in 2000: on 29 October,

- in 2001: on 28 October.

Article 4

The arrangements to apply from 2002 onwards shall be adopted by 1 January 2001 on a proposal from the Commission to be submitted before 1 January 2000.

Article 5

This Directive shall not apply to the overseas territories of the Member States.

Article 6

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 31 December 1997 at the latest. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by the Member States.

Article 7

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at . . .

For the European Parliament

The President

For the Council

The President

(1) OJ No C 342, 14. 11. 1996, p. 5.

(2) OJ No C 30, 30. 1. 1997, p. 20. (Opinion of 25 September 1996).

(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 28 November 1996 (OJ No C 380, 16. 12. 1996, p. 20), Council common position of 14 April 1997 and Decision of the European Parliament of . . . (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(4) OJ No L 164, 30. 6. 1994, p. 1.

STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S REASONS

I. INTRODUCTION

On 26 April 1996 the Commission submitted to the Council a proposal for an eighth Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on summer-time arrangements (1), based on Article 100a of the EC Treaty.

The European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee delivered their opinions on the proposal on 28 November 1996 (2) and 25 September 1996 (3) respectively.

On 14 April 1997, the Council adopted a common position in accordance with Article 189b of the Treaty.

II. AIM OF THE PROPOSAL

The aim of the Commission proposal is to fix the dates and times for the beginning and end of summer-time throughout the Community in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001.

III. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION

The Council's common position corresponds to the Commission proposal.

The dates and times for the beginning and end of summer-time are fixed for a period of four years.

In each Member State the summer-time period for 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 will begin at 1 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time on the last Sunday in March and end at 1 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time on the last Sunday in October.

The common position stipulates that the arrangements to apply from 2002 onwards shall be adopted by 1 January 2001 on a proposal from the Commission to be submitted before 1 January 2000.

However, the Council and the Commission considered that the social and economic implications of summer-time arrangements justified thorough examination before the eighth Directive expired. For that purpose the Council noted that the Commission undertook to send it a detailed report by 30 June 1999 at the latest. The Council and the Commission agreed to carry out, with the aid of a group comprising representatives of interest groups and Member States' national experts, an in-depth examination of the implications of applying summer-time arrangements, including the institutional aspects of coordination of times between the Member States of the European Union.

IV. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AMENDMENTS

The Council, in line with the Commission proposal, did not adopt the three amendments proposed by the European Parliament:

- amendments 1 and 2, amending Articles 2 and 3 of the proposal so that implementation of summer-time arrangements would not be obligatory as such.

The Council regarded these amendments as contrary to the main aim of the Directive. Furthermore, if summer-time arrangements were not applied by all the Member States this might well lead to serious disruption in the transport and communications sectors, similar to that caused by the absence of harmonization,

- amendment 3 introducing a new Article 3a stipulating that the Commission will ensure that time differences between adjoining Member States do not exceed one hour.

The Council considered this to be a matter for the Member States; there was no reason to give the Commission any such task.

(1) OJ No C 342, 14. 11. 1996, p. 5.

(2) OJ No C 380, 16. 12. 1996, p. 20.

(3) OJ No C 30, 30. 1. 1997, p. 20.