The complexity of seasonal time arrangements in the European Union: the role of the Commission

The impact of seasonal time arrangements and the call for its cancellation made by the Juncker Commission in 2018 is analyzed. From the results of the public consultation on time arrangements launched by the European Commission and the Harmonized European Time Use Survey we show that an earlier the onset of human activity predicts less appetence for practicing seasonal regulations of time. The result is in line with the primordial goal of the regulation. The complexity of deciding which clock should survive is reviewed in relation with the span in longitude of Member States. This issue may have helped the decision to stall. We conclude that, in face of the myriad of societal and geographical issues that impact this regulation and the large variability across Member States the European Commission should have not taken a political action on this issue. Instead it should have allowed opt-outs and play the technocratic role of regulating transition dates for those Member State that preferred to continue the practice.