Finland will switch to summer time this Sunday

Snow is still very present throughout Finland, but the country, like the rest of Europe, is already preparing to welcome summer.

Daylight saving time begins in the coming weekend, in the night between Saturday and Sunday.

The clocks will be moved forward one hour on Sunday, 28 March, at 03.00.

Finland has observed daylight saving time without interruption since 1981. Switching to summer time and back to winter time is a unified practice within the European Union.

In 2018, the European Commission proposed that the biannual clock changes would be abandoned across Europe in a harmonised manner. The Member States would remain free to decide nationally which time they want to adopt on a permanent basis.

Of the Member States, Finland has advocated abandoning seasonal time changes the most actively. The people, businesses and other stakeholders were widely consulted in Finland to facilitate national decision-making.

The results showed that many were in favour of abandoning clock changes. While both summer and winter time were supported fairly evenly, winter time gained slightly more popularity.

Avoid fragmentation of time zones

Finland does not currently have a formal final position on the choice of permanent year-round time. Finland underlines the importance of avoiding fragmentation of time zones.

The initial target schedule for the Commission proposal has not been met. In spring 2019, the European Parliament voted in favour of ending seasonal time changes. At the time, it proposed that clocks would be changed in 2021 for the last time.

The proposal is still awaiting consideration by the Council of the EU, for the issue shall be decided jointly by the Council and the Parliament. The debate on Daylight Saving Time has been delayed, partly because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the issue has not been on the agenda during the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council this spring.