During a press conference in Łódź on Saturday, May 11, Robert Biedroń, a Polish MEP and co-chairman of the New Left party (Lewica), along with other candidates of the party, announced that they would be fighting for the abolition of time change in the European Parliament.
Biedroń, also the leader of the Warsaw Left list to the European Parliament, emphasised that The New Left is going to the European Parliament to make practical changes that will improve the lives of people in the country. He stated that the abolition of the time change would make life better, easier, and more pleasant, as most Poles find changing clocks burdensome and are against it.
The New Left is a coalition partner of Donald Tusk’s third cabinet.
Time change affects health
In 1980, the European Union (EU) unified the summertime arrangements to ensure a consistent approach to time switching across the single market. Before this, national summertime practices and schedules were diverging. The current arrangements directive, effective in 2001, establishes a uniform date and time for the beginning and end of the summertime period across the EU, taking place during the last weekend of March and October, and aims to help the internal market function effectively.
However, introducing the time change did not lead to the anticipated benefits, such as energy savings. On the contrary, evidence shows it has adversely affected human health.
In 2018, the European Parliament adopted a resolution with 384 votes in favour, 153 against, and 12 abstentions, calling on the Commission to comprehensively assess the summertime arrangements directive. The Commission submitted a proposal after the assessment, which received 4.6 million responses, with 84% favouring ending the clock changes. The proposal must now be agreed upon by the Parliament and EU ministers. In 2021, the European Commission recommended that Member States continue with their current time change regulations until 2026. Nevertheless, there are no ongoing efforts in this area within the EU.
The Polish New Left’s committment
“It’s a thing of the past,” the co-chairman of the The New Left posted on X. “End of time change? This is what the Left wants to fight for.”
According to a survey conducted by IBRiS last year, up to 70% of Polish citizens do not want the biannual time change. Robert Biedroń stated that this practice is highly troublesome and significantly costs the Polish people.
“We will fight to end this strange practice of changing time, which does not benefit anyone and harms everyone,” said Biedroń on Saturday.
Biedroń said that according to last year’s IBRiS study, changing the time twice a year affects our health.
“When we change time in March, statistics show more heart attacks and road accidents. When we change the time in October, more people start seeing a doctor with depression,” Biedroń said.
“We want us to have to change our clocks for the last time in October this year. This is what Poles want. It’s time for stability. It’s time to get healthy. Time for the Left ‼️ #EuropaDlaCiebie 🇵🇱🇪🇺,” Robert Biedroń posted on X.
