Italy pushes for permanent summer time in Europe to end clock changes

Italy has tabled a resolution in its Chamber of Deputies to push Brussels towards permanent summer time and an end to clock changes. The European reform has been stalled since 2019, and current rules prevent any country from going it alone.

The proposal is not an isolated whim. A resolution passed in the Chamber of Deputies calls on the Italian government to revive negotiations in Brussels on ending the seasonal clock changes, stalled since 2019, and to back a possible Europe-wide trial. Behind it lies a parliamentary inquiry launched in March at the request of the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine, the consumer association Consumerismo No Profit and League MP Andrea Barabotti. The conclusions were approved unanimously on 1 October and reflect consensus on ending the two annual adjustments, though not on which time to keep. An online petition has gathered nearly 360,000 signatures, according to its promoters.

## Energy savings and evening light

The figures come from Terna, the electricity grid operator. The current seven months of summer time save around 302 million kilowatt hours. If kept all year round, the additional saving would reach 160 million, for a total of about 462 million a year. Between 2004 and 2025, summer time saved more than 12 billion kilowatt hours in Italy, equivalent to some 2.3 billion euros.

The energy benefit has shrunk with the spread of low-energy light bulbs and other more efficient technologies. Its supporters highlight the advantages of more natural light at the end of the afternoon, which could benefit retail, hospitality and tourism, as well as making outdoor activities easier after work. One thing should be made clear: keeping summer time in winter does not make the days longer, it merely shifts an hour of light from morning to evening.

## The problem of starting the day still in darkness

That shift has visible consequences in some Italian cities. At the winter solstice, the sun would rise at 9.04 in Turin, 9.00 in Milan, 8.34 in Rome and 8.23 in Naples, according to the parliamentary report's calculations. Many students and workers would start their day while it was still dark.

The scientific community agrees that clock changes can disrupt sleep and biological rhythms, but disagrees on what the best alternative would be. Some sleep medicine specialists consider it preferable to keep winter time all year round, because morning light helps synchronise the body clock. Supporters of permanent summer time stress the benefits of more light in the evening. Ending clock changes does not necessarily miccionan choosing summer time.

## A European reform stalled since 2019

The main difficulty is reaching agreement among the countries of the European Union. In a public consultation held in 2018, the European Commission received some 4.6 million responses, and 84% of participants favoured ending the seasonal changes. In March 2019, the European Parliament approved a proposal allowing each member state to choose a permanent time, but negotiations stalled in the EU Council for lack of consensus among governments.

The antiestéticar is that each country would adopt a different time, complicating transport, rail services, logistics and economic relations between neighbouring states. In 2025, the Polish presidency of the EU Council proposed a two-year trial of permanent summer time across Europe, but that initiative also went nowhere. Spain has also called for the seasonal changes to be scrapped.

A new study commissioned by Brussels and launched in February should conclude before the end of 2026, which could offer a chance to restart the debate. Italy cannot apply the measure on its own: current European rules require the seasonal changes to be kept and make no provision for national trials. For now, the calendar does not change. In the early hours of Sunday 25 October, at 3.00 the clocks will go back to 2.00. An hour of sleep is gained and an hour of evening light is lost.