CELEX: 51991PC0253
Language: en
Date: 1991-07-10
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A SIXTH COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON SUMMERTIME ARRANGEMENTS

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                C0M(91) 253 final - SYN 351
                                Brussels, 10 July 1991
                       PROPOSAL
            FOR A SIXTH COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
              on summertime Arrangements
              (presented by the Commission)
 ---pagebreak---                           Explanatory Memorandum
1. Summertime was introduced individually by the majority of Member
   States during the seventies; other Member States had introduced
   summertime earlier.
   Community   legislation (First Council Directive of 1980) applied
   from 1981    onwards and its sole objective was progressively to
   harmonise   the dates and time for the beginning and end of the
   summertime   period.
   The Community       law on the harmonisation of       the summertime
   arrangements came as a result of the need to suppress the obstacles
   which the differing national summertime arrangements would create
   to the free movements of goods and services.
2. Up to now this goal was achieved except in the cases of Ireland and
   the United Kingdom where the end date of summertime still differs.
   The Commission recognises that this situation gives rise to
   disadvantages     in particular    in the field of transport and
   communications. For      some time now, the British        and  Irish
   Governments have started to consider the possibility of joining the
   Central European Time. Given that the present Directive is
   foreseen to last two years, the Commission thinks that it would be
   appropriate to allow the two Member States concerned to have the
   possibility to settle the question of the end date at a national
    level.
3. With regard to     the different arguments concerning the impact of
   summertime and     in particular its possible negative effects, the
   Commission has,    during recent years, received an increasing number
   of complaints      from   individuals and pressure groups against
   summert ime.
   The Commission, on the basis of studies on the advantages and
   disadvantages of summertime executed by independent consultants,
   has consulted Member States' experts to examine the question. It
   appeared that Member States had no intention to abandon summertime
   at least for the next few years. Under these circumstances the
   Commission proposes to fix dates and time for the beginning and end
   of the summertime period for the years 1993 and 1994 for the whole
   of the Community.
4. According to Article 4 of the present Fifth Directive the Council
   shall adopt by 1 January 1992 the arrangements to apply from 1993
   onwards.
   The proposed Directive     is based on Article 100A as was the case
   with Fifth Directive.
   The cooperation procedure with the European Parliament is therefore
   required.
 ---pagebreak---                           •SUTM COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
                         on summert ime arrangements
 THE CQUNC IL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUN IT I ES,
 Having r*gard to the Treaty es tabItsshi rig the      European Economic
 Community/and in parrticular Art ic le 400A thereof,
 Waving regard to the proposa I >from the Commission1•
 In cooperation with the European Paruament 2 -
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee3
Whereas the Fifth Council Directive 89/47/EEC of 21 December 1988 on
summertime arrangements4- introduced- a common date and time throughout
the Community for the beginning of the summertime period for 1990, 1991
and 1992 and, for the end of that period in these years, two different
dates, one for Member States apart from Ireland and the United Kingdom
and one for Ireland and the United Kingdom,
                                                                         /
Whereas for as long as Member States apply summertime arrangements, it
Is important for the establishraent and functioning of the internal
market that a common date and time for both the beginning and end of
the summertime period should be fixed in the who Ie Community area from
1993 onwards,
Whereas, for geographical reasons, Ireland and the United Kingdom
should be afforded the possibility of fixing, during one or both of
those two years, an end date for summertime different from that
provided for the other Member States;
Whereas Article 4 of the Fifth Directive provides that the CounciI,
acting on a proposal of the Commission, shall adopt by 1 January 1992
the arrangements to apply from 1993 onwards,
1.
2.
3.
4.  JO L 17, 21.1.1989, p. 57
 ---pagebreak--- Whereas, for geographical reasons, common summertime arrangements
should not apply to the overseas territories of the Member States,
Whereas it is appropriate to re-examine the summertime period from time
to time and for this purpose arrangements should therefore be adopted
for 1993 and 1994,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
                                Article 1
For the purposes of this Directive the expression "summertime period"
means the period for the year during which the time is advanced by 60
minutes in relation to the time for the rest of the year.
                                Ar t i cIe 2
Member States take the measures necessary to ensure that in each Member
State the summertime period for 1993 and 1994 begins at 1 a.m.
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on the last Sunday in March, that is to say:
         in 1993: on 28 March,
         in 1994: on 27 March
                                Article 3
1. Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that in
each Member State the summertime period for 1993 and 1994 ends at 1
a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on the last Sunday in September, that is
to say:
         in 1993: on 26 September,
         in 1994: on 25 September.
2. Ireland and the United Kingdom may, however, take the measures
necessary to ensure that the summertime period for 1993 and 1994 ends
at 1 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on the fourth Sunday in October,
that is to say:
     in 1993 : on 24 October,
     in 1994 : on 23 October,
3.  Should Ireland and the United Kingdom decide, before 1994, to bring
the end of their summertime period into line with the dates provided
for  in paragraph 1, they shall notify the Commission, which will inform
the other Member States thereof.
                                Art icle 4
The Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, shall adopt by 1
January 1994 the arrangements to apply from 1995 onwards.
 ---pagebreak---                                 Art icle 5
This Directive shall   not  apply   to the overseas   territories of the
Member States.
                                Art icle 6
This directive is addressed to the Member States
Done at Brussels,
                                          For the Counci
                                          The President
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                                                      ISSN 0254-1475
                                                              COM(91) 253 final
                                                      DOCUMENTS
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                                Catalogue number : CB-CO-91-315-EN-C
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