CELEX: 51988PC0401
Language: en
Date: 1988-07-13
Title: Proposal for a FIFTH COUNCIL DIRECTIVE on summertime arrangements (presented by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (88) 401
Vol. 1988/0144
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In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983 concerning
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                     COM(88 ) 401 final - SYN 141
                                     Brussels , 13 July 1988
                          Proposai for a
                    FIFTH COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
                on summertime arrangements
             ( (presented     by the Commission )
 ---pagebreak---                              ~ >: Γ Τ,Λ Ν' Λ'ΓΓ' I ! Υ I ' !■: I Κ I ί ( Λ : : ! I ! I
 1 . Art . 5 of the Fourth Council Directive 8S / 14 / EEC of 22 December
     1987 ( 1 ) on summertime arrangements applying for 1989 provides
     that the Council , acting on a proposal from the Commission shall
     adopt by 1.1.1939 the arrangements to apply from 1990 onwards .
     The decision must be taken one year in advance in order to pro¬
     vide sufficient time for transport operator# uto establish their
     timetables *
2 . The Commission , taking account of the experience gained so far by
     the application of summertime in the Community , aims at fixing
     the beginning and end dates to summertime for a period of three
     years as this was the case under the second and third Council di­
     rectives .    The years to cover are 1990 ,                                       1991 and 1992 .     Summer-
     time is at present applied in the framework of the UNO’s Economic
     Commission for Europe ( ECE ), by all European countries except
     Iceland , i . e . :
     Albania                                         Luxembourg
     Austria                                         Mal ta
     Delgium                                         Netherlands
     Bulgar ia                                       Norway
     Cyprus                                          Poland
     Czechoslovakia                                  Portugal
     Denmark                                         Romania
     Finland                                         Spain
     France                                          Sweden
     German Democratic Republic                      Switzerland
     Germany , Federal Republic of                   Turkey
     Greece                                          Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
     Hungary                                         United Kingdom
     Ireland                                         Yugos lavia
     Italy
     All these countries accepting that summertime has a beneficial
     impact on their population are in favour of continuing present
     summertime arrangements as recommended by relevant ECE decisions .
     Information sent to the Commission by Member States indicates
     that according to studies and public opinion polls carried out in
     certain   of   them , summertime              has more                     advantages       than disadvan¬
     tages .    Some of the advantages are : a reduction in electricity
     consumption , longer outdoor recreational activities , extension of
     the tourist season , a reduction of road accidents especially                                              in
     northern countries etc .
     Moreover according      to     a     recent            public                     opinion  poll   ( Eurobaro -
     metre ) carried out in May 1988 , 68.4 % of the European Community
     citizens is in favour of summertime , 23.2 % against and 8.4 % ex ¬
     pressed no opinion .           However , analysis by country shows con ¬
     siderable variations : Ireland 85.6% , Denmark 84.9% and Italy
     84.3% representing the upper limit whilst France 46.5% , Belgium
     53.3% and Spain 54.5% representing the lower limit *
     The Commission , in due course , intends also to carry out a study
     on a Community level about the impact of summertime .
3 . Consultations have taken., place with the United Kingdom and Ire ¬
     land in order to examine the question of the different end date
     to summertime .
( 1 ) O.J. No . L 6 , 9.1.1988 , p. 38
 ---pagebreak--- Due to their north –westerly position which means especially for
October an oas’lier sunset in comparison with the rest of the Com ¬
munity , these' Member States would not be in favour of losing sum ¬
mertime for one month .
In the case of the United Kingdom , the effect of ending summer ¬
time      in  September    would ,   inter  alia ,   be  an  increase   in   road
casualties ( empirical analysis suggests more than 100 deaths or
serious injuries ), an increase in energy costs , a harm to the
tourist industry due to the curtailment of their season etc .
Moreover      according to     a preliminary survey        carried out    in  the
United Kingdom in 1987 the public opinion appeared to be changing
in  favour     of  an  increase    in  summer  time   as a  result of benefits
involved ( more leisure tirna , longer outdoojf 'leisure activities ,
etc . ) .
In the light of this situation the United Kingdom’s Government
with      a  statement    made   by    the  Home    Secretary   on  March    19 88
announced the intention to examine the possibility of putting the
clocks one hour ahead throughout the year ( GMT + 1 ) and add a
second hour ( GMT + 2 ) from end March to end September .
The Irish government is intended to follow the move as soon as
the United Kingdom takes the necessary steps .
This means that the United Kingdom and Ireland would move to cen ¬
tral European time creating therefore a single time zone ( GMT + 1 )
with most of the other Member States , Portugal and Greece being
respectively in time zones GKT + 0 and GHT + 2 for geographical
reasons .
The advantages would be considerable especially for the trans ¬
port sector and communications ( for example , at present British
and French businessmen onbjf. have two-thirds of the working day in
common ) .
If   this     finally    takes   place ,   the   question    also  of   the   two
different end dates to summertime would definitively be settled .
The Commission in the light of these developments and in order to
give    time    to  the  United Kingdom and        Ireland  to  discuss   such   a
sensitive issue concerning every individual and on which their
national Parliament attach a particular importance , proposes to
continue the present system of two different end dates to summer ¬
time with a provision that the United Kingdom and Ireland may
finish the summertime period in September at any of the years
concerned .
This will provide the two Member States with the time needed for
the internal procedures , which especially for the case of the
United Kingdom could mean :
    . public debate and introduction of legislation 19S9-90
    • full debate in the Parliament and adoption of new system
        1991-92 .
 ---pagebreak---                                        3
5 . Under the previous directive :; summertime begins and ends in each
    Member State at  1  a.m . Greenwich  Mean Tine .
    The Commission proposes that this should also apply under      the
    present directive .
6 . It seems appropriate to exclude overseas territories of Member
    States from the scope of the present Directive , as was the case
    with the directives applied so far .
 ---pagebreak---                                  Proposai for a
                            FIFTII  COU NC IL  DI ACTIVE
                          on summertime arrangements
THE COUNCIL, OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Com¬
munity , and in particular Article 100a thereof ,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission , ( 1 )
In co-operation v/ ith the European Parliament ,            (2)
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee
(3) ,
Whereas the Fourth Council Directive 88/14/EEC of 22 December 1987 on surmer-
time arrangements ( 4 ) introduced a common date and time throughout
the Community for      the beginning of the summertime period for             1939
and , for the end of that period in that             year , two different dates ,
one for Member States apart from Ireland and the United Kingdom and
one for Ireland and the United Kingdom ;
Whereas Article 5 of the Fourth Directive provides that the Council ,
acting on a proposal from the Commission , shall adopt by 1 January
1909 the arrangements to apply from 1990 onwards ;
'Whereas it is appropriate to re-examine the summertime period from
time to time and for this purpose arrangements therefore should be
adopted for 1990 , 1991 and 1992 ;
Whereas   a common    dace   and   time    for   the   beginning and end of    the
summertime period should be fixed in the whole Community area for
those years ;
Whereas , for geographical reasons , Ireland and the United Kingdom
should be given the possibility to fix , during some or all of those
three years , an end date different from that provided for the other
Member States ;
Whereas , for geographical reasons , common summertime arrangements
should not apply to the overseas territories of the Member States ;
( 1 )
(2  )
(3  )
(4  )    O.J. tlo . I, 0 , 9.1.1988 , p. 3 Ci
 ---pagebreak---   AiSvAtHJtfTCD irsil-ii. . ULr . :: CT1 VJ  :
                                                Article    1
For    the purposes             of      tiiis   Directive the oppression " summertime
period " means the period of the year during which the time is ad¬
vanced by 60 minutes in relation to the time for the rest of the
year .
                                                Article 2
Member States shall take the measures necessary to                           ensure that    in
each Member State the summertime period for 1990 , 1991 and 1992 be ¬
gins at 1 a.m . Greenwich Mean Time on the last Sunday in March .
                                                Article 3
1 . Member States            shall      take   the   measures    necessary   to  ensure   that
    the summertime period for                     1990 ,  1991  and    1992 ends at    1  a.m .
    Greenwich Mean Time on the last Sunday in September , that is to say
    - in 1990 : on 30 September ,
    - in 1991 : on 29 September ,
    - in 1992 : on 27 September ,
2 . Ireland and the United Kingdom may however take the measures ne ¬
    cessary to ensure that the summertime period for 1990 ,                          1991 and
     1992   ends    at      1  a.m .      Greenwich Mean      Time ,  on the   fourth   Sunday
     in October , that is to say :
    - in 1990 : on 23 October ,
    - in 1991 : on 27 October ,
    - in 1992 : on 25 October ,
3 . Should     Ireland         and       the   United    Kingdom    decide  before    1992  to
    align the end of their summertime period with those provided for in
    paragraph 1 , they shall notify the Commisssion which will inform
    the other Member States thereof .
                                                Article 4
The Council , acting on a proposal from the Commission , shall adopt
by 1 January 1992 the arrangements to apply from 1993 onwards .
                                                Article    5
This Directive shall not apply to the overseas territories of the
Member States .
                                                 Article 6
This Directive is addressed to the Member States .
Done at Brussels
                                                                 For the Council
                                                                 The President