Europe moves closer to scrapping summer-winter time changes
The European Union has taken another step towards abolishing the twice-yearly clock change which has been a rite of spring and autumn for decades.
A European Parliament committee voted 23 to 11 today to scrap the time change in 2021.
However, legislators left the decision as to which time - summer or winter - should be adopted for a future date. There are divisions within the EU on which should become the standard.
Many member states instituted the time change during the 1970s oil crisis as an attempt to save energy. Since 1996, all EU countries change their times simultaneously.
An EU consultation of the public last year showed that 84% were against changing the clock.
The proposal now goes to the full parliament and the member states.
