EU Parliament votes to end clock changes between winter and summer time
The European Parliament has voted to end the changing of clocks between winter and summer time as member states will decide their own time zone.
MEPs voted in favour of EU Commission proposals to end the practice of adjusting clocks by an hour in spring and autumn from 2021.
Each member state will decide whether to keep summer time or winter time all year round.
If countries prefer daylight saving time or summer time, the final clock change should be made on the last Sunday in March 2021.
But if they prefer winter time, EU member states must adjust their clocks for the final time on the last Sunday in October 2021.
Despite Brexit, the UK will still have to choose either Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or British Summer Time (BST).
However this would only apply until the end of the Brexit transition period - which is currently the end of 2020.
The EU Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of ending the twice-yearly process of adjusting clocks, after 410 MEPs approved the draft law, with 192 against.
MEPs voted to postpone the year when the clock changes would end from 2019 to 2021.
EU member states must inform the EU Commission of their preferred time zone by April 2020, so the single market is not disrupted during the switch in time zones.
Currently, all 28 member states switch to summer time on the last Sunday in March and winter time on the last Sunday in October.
The unified approach was introduced in 1980 to ensure the single market worked smoothly, as at the time summer time practices were different for member states.
The EU Commission made the proposal after a public consultation showed 84% of respondants wanted to end the biannual clock changes.