CELEX: 51981PC0137
Language: en
Date: 1981-03-27
Title: Proposal for a Second Council Directive on Summertime Arrangements (submitted to the Council by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (81) 137
Vol. 1981/0035
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                               COM(81)137 final
                                               Brussels , 27 March 1981
                                 /
                              . r ,
                               /,
                             Proposal for a
                        Second Council Directive
                       on Summertime Arrangements
               ( submitted to the Council by the Commission )
 C0MC81 > 137 final
 ---pagebreak---       Proposal for a Second Council Directive on
             Summertime  Arrangements
         v   Explanatory Memorandum
Introduction
           The Council of Ministers adopted on 22 July 1980 a Directive
on summertime arrangements which set 29 and 28 March as the dates on
which summer time should begin in each Member State in 1981 and 1982
respectively ( 1 ). Article 4 of the Directive states that the Council ,
acting on a Commission proposal and as soon as possible , will adopt
more comprehensive measures for the harmonisation of summertime .     *
2».        The case for adopting uniform summer time arrangements in
the Community in the interests of cross- frontier transport and tele­
communications and as a practical demonstrat-ion of Community solidarity
has lost none of its force . Indeed , it is desirable for a single summer
time period to be' adopted as widely as possible in Europe as a whole .
The indications .are that the best way of achieving this m^y be for the
Community , having taken full account of the views and practice of
other countries , to take the lead in adopting suitable arrangements .
3.         The Commission has already proposed common end dates for
summer time in the Community in 1981 and 1982 ( 11 and 10 October
respectively ). The purpose of the present proposal is to propose      .
common dates for starting and ending summer time in 1983 and subsequent
years . For the sake of convenience the proposed dates are expressed
in terms of formulae .                                   ~       .
 ( 1 ) Council Directive no . 80 /737 / EEC , 0J no . L 205 / 17
       of 7.8.80
 ---pagebreak--- Start of the pernod
4.      Although agreement has already been reached on common starting
dates for summer time in 1981 and 1982, some Member States continue to
harbour national preferences which would normally tend to produce different
                                                                           ι
dates . For example , two Member States have until now employed a formula
which produces dates between 16 and 22 March , always before their Easter .
At least one of these Member States attaches importance , on general social
grounds , to Easter 's always falling within the summer time period . In
informal discussion with the Commission 's servi ces another Member State
has suggested the penultimate Sunday in March , which gives, a similar range
of dates ( 18 to 24 March ) to the formula just mentioned . One delegation
suggested the last Sunday in March , which would give the range 25 to 31
March . Finally, two Member States see attractions in choosing the Sunday
nearest to 1 April , which gives a range of dates from 29 March to 4 April .
5.      In spite of these differences it is nevertheless clearly essential
to preserve' in the years after 1982 the common position on the start of
summer time which has been agreed for 1981 and 1982 . A compromise between
the national preferences is required which cannot escape a degree of
arbitrariness . The best way ahead might be to propose dates falling some­
where near the middle of the preferred ranges , subject to ensuring that
Easter always falls within the summer time period , a criterion whose
attractions the Commission recognises . On this basis , the Commission 's
proposal is that each Member State should start summer time on the last
Sunday in March , unless this is celebrated as Easter in one or more Member
States , in which case summer time should start on the previous Sunday x .
This formula would give starting dates falling between 19 and 31 March
in the years 1983 - 2000 , as follows :
 (1 ) Easter Sunday as celebrated by the western churches is due
      to fall on the last Sunday in March in 1986, 1989, 1991 and 1997 .
      The Orthodox Easter does not fall in March .
 ---pagebreak---                                     March
                 1983                 27
                 1984 ,               25           '
                 1985                 31
          ... ■ 1986                  23                     - -
                 1987   '          . 29
                 1988         '       27   •
                 1989       '         19
                 1990                 25
                 1991     .           24
                 1992 •               29
                 1993     .           28
                                      28
             .   1994                 27
                                      Z7       - -
                 1995                 26  , '
                 1996               '31 ■
                 1997                 23
                 1998                 29
               . 1999                 28
                 2Q00               , 26
                                             /                 • " '
         It will however be noted that except in 1989 , when the Easter of
         the western churches falls very early, all • the dates fall within
         the eight day range 23 - 31 March .
End of the period
6.       The Community has not yet been able to adopt common dates
for the end of the summer time period . Two Member States currently
employ a formula which produces dates between 23 and 29 October . Two
other Member States are inclined to prefer the last Sunday in September ,
which implies a range of dates from 24 to 30 September . The other
Member States could probably accept a compromise; between these two
positions , which , in the years 1983 to 2000 , would produce .dates
usually four but on three occasions five weeks apart . In these
circumstances there are two possible simple compromise formulae : that
summer time should end either on the second Sunday in October "
( producing' a range of dates from 8 to 14 October ) or on the third
Sunday ( producing the range 15~ to 21 October ). The option which comes
much closer to splitting the difference between the existing preferences
of certain Member States is the second Sunday , and this the
Commission proposes .
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 4 -
Time at which the clocks should be changed
7.        Council Directive no . 80 / 737 / EEC provides for summer time
to be introduced in each Member State at 1 a.m . G.M.T. . The Commission
proposes that this precedent should be followed for both the beginning
and the end of summer time in the years from 1983 onwards .
Exclusion of Greenland and overseas territories of Member States
from scope of measure                            .
8.        It seems appropriate , as it was done in Council Directive
no . 80 /737 / EEC , to exclude these areas from the scope of the Directive
now proposed .          ,       \
Conc lusion
9.        The time has come for the Community to adopt uniform summer
time arrangements on a permanent basis . The starting and end dates
proposed by the Commission in the attached proposal for a Council
Directive represent reasonable compromises between the preferences
of certain Member States , and would involve these in only marginal
adjustments of their present positions .
 ---pagebreak---   Proposal for a Second Council Directive ,on Summertime Arrangements \
  THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES /          • '
        .   *
  Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
  Community , and in particular Article 100 thereof ,
                          i            ■ • . J .   •
                        ^                                . -       • ■
  Having regard to the . proposal from the Commission ,
          • ' '   ■   . .    ■       *                                  ■
  Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament ,      ^
  Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee ;
. Whereas Council Directive 80 /737 / EEC of 22 July 1960 on summertime
  arrangements ( 1 ) introduced a common date and time for the beginning
  of the summertime period io the Community for the 'years " 1981 and 1982
  Whereas Article 4 of that Directive states that the Council , acting
  on a Commission proposal and as soon as possible , will adopt more
  comprehensive measures for the harmonization of summertime ;
  Whereas such measures are highly desirable , in particular in the
  interests of facilitating and reducing -the costs of transport and
  telecommunications between Member States. ;
  Whereas they should provide for common dates for the beginning and
  end of the summertime periodVfor the years from 1983 onwards ;
  Whereas for geographical reasons common summertime arrangements
  need not be applied to Greenland or to the overseas territories
  of the Member States ,; :              ' '     v
  HAS ADOPTED. THIS DIRECTIVE :
   ( 1 ) 0J no. L 205 / 17 of 7.8.80
 ---pagebreak---                              Article 1
          For the purposes of this Directive the expression " summertime
period" means , the period of the year during which the time is advanced
by sixty minutes in relation to the time for the rest of the year .
                             Article 2
          Member States shall take the necessary measures in order that ,
in 1983. and subsequent years , the summertime period shall , in each Member
State :           .                            v ■
    a ) begin at 1 a.m . Greenwich Mean Time on'the last Sunday in March ,
  \ •   unless this is celebrated as Easter in one or more Member States ,
        in which case it shall begin on the previous Sunday ;
    b) end at 1 a.m . GMT on the second Sunday in October .   '
                             Article 3
          This Directive shall not concern Greenland or the overseas
territories of the Member States .
                                                        ' ,     '
                             Article 4
          This Directive is addressed to the Member States .
                                       Done at
                                       For the Council
                                       The President