European countries switch to winter time, turning clocks back one hour

European Union member states switched to winter time on the night of October 25. In this regard, clock hands were turned back by one hour. This was reported by Deutsche Welle.

As noted, changing the time in European Union countries was carried out on an established basis. Specifically, when it was 03:00 in Brussels, the hands were turned back by one hour to 02:00. Through this, the countries transitioned to the winter time regime.

For reference, the unified rule for switching to daylight saving and winter time in the European Union has been in effect since 1996. According to it, clock hands are moved forward by one hour on the last Sunday of March, and turned back by one hour on the last Sunday of October.

However, the issue of abandoning the seasonal time change system has been under discussion for several years. In 2019, the European Parliament supported the proposal to abolish the practice of changing clock hands. Nevertheless, European Union countries have not yet reached a unified decision on this matter.

There are a total of three time zones within the European Union. Greenwich Mean Time is used in Ireland and Portugal. Eastern European Time applies in eight EU countries, including Finland and the Baltic states, which is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.

In the remaining EU countries, including Germany, Central European Time is used. This time zone is considered one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.