- Title: Germans enthusiastic about ending switch between summer and winter time
- Date: 31st August 2018
- Summary: MUNICH, GERMANY (AUGUST 31, 2018) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF CLOCK COLLECTOR WERNER STECHBARTH SHOWING HIS COLLECTION (SOUNDBITE) (German) CLOCK COLLECTOR, WERNER STECHBARTH, SAYING: "At first, I was really pleased, I thought it was great. But now I've thought it over a bit and actually it was fun changing my 365 clocks. Mostly I started three days in advance and sometimes I needed an extra two days to get them all done, but I didn't mind. The other thing is, it meant I dusted them all twice a year. And if I don't have to change them anymore I'll probably never dust them, because I know I'll be too lazy." VARIOUS OF CLOCKS (SOUNDBITE) (German) CLOCK COLLECTOR, WERNER STECHBARTH, SAYING: "You should enjoy each day as if it were your last. As a pensioner, time isn't so important - I don't care if I sometimes sleep until seven. I do what I want and enjoy my life. And I advise everybody: enjoy it, because it's really later than you think." VARIOUS OF CLOCKS FRANKFURT, GERMANY (AUGUST 31, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SITTING AT CAFE CLOCK SUN SHINING (SOUNDBITE) (German) PASSER-BY, MARIA WANIA, SAYING: "I think it's a good idea to go back to normal, other countries have already done it. Changing the clocks wasn't that helpful. I would have thought it would be worth it, but actually we don't need it." (SOUNDBITE) (German) PASSER-BY, JULIUS OSSLOWSKI, SAYING: "This is the first I've heard of it, but I think it's good. I'm a fan of summer time, and I always find it silly changing the clocks back and forth every year. So, I think it's great if we can stick with one time." (SOUNDBITE) (German) PASSER-BY, CHRISTINA BALSEN, SAYING: "I think it's good. Changing the clocks has always bothered me, and now with the children it's even worse. They notice the time change and they struggle with it." (SOUNDBITE) (German) PASSER-BY, THOMAS MILANOWSKI, SAYING: "I always like summer time. We should have a bit more time for ourselves, and that sounds like summer time. But in general, the EU should worry more about things that are important." VARIOUS OF CLOCK ABUJA, NIGERIA (AUGUST 31, 2018) (REUTERS) GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL AND NIGERIAN PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI ARRIVING OFFICIALS (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "A huge number of people took part - more than have ever participated in an online survey in Europe before. And the overwhelming majority said they want summer time, which we are using at the moment and is one hour different from Nigeria, to keep (all year). I would be pleased if the Commission takes this survey seriously. If you do something like that then something should come of it. Personally, I would give it a very high priority." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS
- Embargoed: 14th September 2018 14:31
- Keywords: EU time change clocks summer time
- Location: MUNICH, FRANKFURT, GERMANY
- City: MUNICH, FRANKFURT, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: European Union,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0018VIQP8N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: For clock collector Werner Stechbarth, the debate over whether to end the switch between summer and winter time is about more than an extra hour or two of daylight.
Twice a year, he spends several days changing the time of the 365 ticking clocks which fill his home.
That could be about to end, if the EU responds to the results of a survey which found that most EU citizens were against the switch.
But Stechbarth is not entirely sure if he wants the practice to end.
"At first, I was really pleased, I thought it was great. But now I've thought it over a bit and actually it was fun changing my 365 clocks," he told Reuters, adding that it was also a good opportunity to dust his collection.
More than 80 percent of EU citizens want to abolish the EU's switch and favoured keeping the time used in summer for the whole year, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on German television, adding he would put the plan to a debate among EU commissioners.
Any change would still need approval from national governments and European Parliament to become law.
On the streets of Frankfurt, people were enthusiastic about the prospect of ending the switch.
"Changing the clocks wasn't that helpful," Maria Wania said. '"We don't need it."
Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in. Speaking on a trip to Nigeria, she said that she hoped the Commission would take the results of the survey seriously.
EU law currently requires that citizens in all 28 EU countries move their clocks an hour forward on the last Sunday in March and switch back to winter time on the final Sunday in October.
But Finland, with the most northerly EU national capital, this year called for the EU to halt the practice, which critics say it can cause long-term health problems, especially among young children and elderly people.
Research has shown that the time change disrupts sleep schedules and can impact productivity at work.
Supporters say making the switch to give extra morning daylight in winter and evening light in summer can help reduce traffic accidents and save energy.
Outside the EU, a handful of European countries have stopped switching between summer and winter time, including Russia, Turkey, Belarus and Iceland. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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