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Rabat – Politicians and citizens across Europe agree that changing the clock for Daylight Savings Time serves little purpose, yet the abolishment of the measure seems mired in political disagreements. The measure is deemed both unpopular and to even have negative health consequences.
When European politics in 2018 decided to abolish what they call “seasonal time changes,” the issue finally appeared to be settled. The idea was welcomed in Morocco as well, with the government suddenly deciding to scrap the measure following the EU’s move.
Many in Morocco criticized the government for its sudden decision that caught both citizens and their digital devices off guard. Yet while Morocco might have implemented the measure in too much of a rushed manner, in Europe the issue continues to linger in political debates.
The issue at hand is that Europeans agree that they want to stop changing the clocks, yet different countries have different preferences whether to keep the clock at summer or winter time.
Germany prefers to keep the clock at summer time, while southern states such as Portugal and Greece demand that winter time become the new norm. The debate again shows the tenuous rivalry between countries in the European bloc, and the difficulty to find a consensus on even the most basic of issues.
This year was supposed to be the year Europe finally ended the measure which had originally been introduced during the 1973 Gulf oil crisis as a misguided method to conserve energy. Still, the issue remains a contentious topic as EU member states seem unable to settle on the preferred time.
In 2019, then-European Commision President Claude Juncker assured frustrated citizens that “the time change will be abolished,” with 2021 as the target date. “The Council has not reached yet a common position on this subject,” the official publication of the European Council continues to state, as member states bicker over their preferred position on the matter.
