Briefing Paper on the EU proposal to discontinue seasonal time change

This Briefing Paper has been produced in response to the European Commission’s Work Programme for 2025, which lists a proposed directive to end seasonal time changes in the EU.

As the Republic of Ireland remains an EU Member State, while the UK, including Northern Ireland, is no longer part of the EU, the adoption of this directive could have important implications for cross-border cooperation and coordination.

Seasonal time change, more commonly known as Daylight Saving Time (DST), is a system designed to align waking hours with changing patterns of daylight throughout the year, in order to maximise the use of natural sunlight.

It was initially introduced during the first World War by Germany, France and the UK as a means of conserving coal. It was later abandoned after the war and reestablished independently by European countries during the 1970s in response to the 1973 oil crisis.

The current UK arrangement for seasonal time changes, as defined by the Summertime Order 2022, and applying to the entirety of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, states that British Summer Time (BST) begins at 1am GMT on the last Sunday in March, and ends at 1am GMT on the last Sunday in October.

This Order implemented a European Directive which harmonised summer-time arrangements across the EU.

This briefing paper was written by Floran Echasserieau, Legal Intern at the Centre for Cross Border Cooperation.

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