WRITTEN QUESTION No. 281/97 by Gérard CAUDRON to the Commission. Summer time
Date: 1997-02-13
Institutions: CAUDRON, European Parliament
Subjects: EC Directive, France, application of EU law, competence of the Member States, derogation from EU law, impact study, proposal (EU), summertime













EUR-Lex - 91997E0281 - EN






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91997E0281

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 281/97 by Gérard CAUDRON to the Commission. Summer time  


Official Journal C 373 , 09/12/1997 P. 0011 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0281/97 by Gérard Caudron (PSE) to the Commission (13 February 1997)Subject: Summer timeSince 1980 the Commission has been responsible for harmonizing the beginning and end of summer time in the Member States which apply this system. It has repeatedly explained that the decision whether or not to implement the summer time arrangements does not fall within its powers but within those of each Member State.Recently the French delegation to the Council announced its intention to go back on the summer time system applied in France.An expert opinion from the Council states that, in that event, France would be disregarding compulsory provisions on summer time.Will the Commission state whether it is maintaining its traditional interpretation of summer time arrangements, i.e. that the decision whether or not to apply them lies solely with each Member State and that its responsibility is merely to harmonize the beginning and end of the summer time period?Will the Commission state what progress has been made with surveys on the impact of summer time on men and women in the European Union and on socio-economic activities as a whole?Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (7 May 1997)While the main purpose of the Community directive concerning summer time arrangements is to harmonize the time-table of the summer time period to eliminate obstacles to the free movement of goods, services and European citizens, the fact is that all Member States have been applying a summer time regime for at least 16 years since the first directive of 1980.At the end of the seventies, following the initiative taken - particularly by France - Member States expressed themselves in favour of the introduction of a common summer-time system. The unanimous and repeated expression by Member States in favour of the system have been progressively reflected by the wording of the directives. The directive that is currently in force (the 7th directive) recognises this in its second recital: 'whereas, given that 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 should be fixed throughout the Community from 1995 onwards'. Both Council and Commission currently give a binding interpretation of this directive for the introduction of the system and the application of the harmonized time-table as set by the directive. The same applies to the proposal for an 8th directive ((COM(96) 106. )).Finally, in 1995, and in line with its commitment, the Commission carried out a study of the application of summer time, with a final report sent to all Community institutions and representative bodies of the various sectors considered in the study. The main conclusions of the study are stated in the Commission report attached to the proposal for an 8th directive.