Time heals all wounds, they say. But unfortunately, it's a saying that doesn't apply to the European Union. Quite the opposite: The longer problems are kicked down the line, the more complicated they become. It's true of major crises like Brexit, and of small matters like the abolition of daylight saving time.

Small matters? Far from it. The abolition of the biannual time change, due to happen again this Sunday, is itself taking a great deal of time. Many hours have been squandered in consultation, yet the EU member states cannot agree on who would abolish or retain which time, and when.

DW's Bernd Riegert

Some countries want to do feasibility studies and appoint coordination committees. The European Commission rejects this. Time is pressing, because the topic is supposed to be wrapped up by Jean-Claude Juncker before his time as president of the Commission is up. This isn't going to happen. Turning back the clock to before 1996, when summer time was standardized in all EU countries, may become one of the timeless classics of all the European squabbles. They're already placing bets in Brussels on which will happen first: Brexit, or the abolition of summer time. Or should that be winter time?

Which zone is best?

Some countries want to keep summer time, because it gets light later in the mornings. Some find winter time better, because it gets light earlier in the mornings. And vice versa. It looks as if there'll be a merry patchwork of countries in the EU's three time zones wanting to switch, or drop out of the central time management altogether.

On the subject of time zones … Spain is considering leaving the Central European time zone and introducing British time — Greenwich Mean Time. Geographically speaking, this would make a lot more sense. Going by the position of the sun, GMT would be a much better fit for Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and France as well.

The European Parliament was originally aiming for the year 2021 for the great summer time/winter time reform. The member states reject this, though, as it leaves too little time for all the complex preparations. But — preparations for what, exactly? EU accession state Turkey has shown them how it can be done with a minimum of fuss. In 2016, President Erdogan decided that Turkey would remain on summer time all year round, effectively catapulting his country into a time zone that is always three hours from GMT/UTC.

Direct democracy is nonsense

How did it come to this? A quick look back in time can help here. Summer time is a leftover from World War One, when armies wanted more light to conduct their senseless slaughter. Germany reintroduced it in World War Two for the same reason. The clocks were changed by many countries again in the 1970s during the major oil crisis, to save energy. Finally, the whole business was enshrined in EU law — for all time, or so people thought.

The results of an online poll in the EU in 2018 showed that the vast majority of its 4.6 million participants wanted to end changing times back and forth because having just one time would supposedly be better for our health as it would be lighter or darker earlier in the evening. Or was it in the morning? This questionnaire, deemed to be the will of the European people although it was not and is not representative, is to form the basis of any decisions. The spirit of our times appeared in action: direct democracy, civic participation.

Using solar time: Perhaps the most practical method?

All the things that went wrong in the Brexit referendum could be repeated in the vote on the daylight saving time. Sometimes, the supposed will of the people simply cannot be implemented, or only over a great deal of time. In neither case is the matter itself urgent. The time pressure is created artificially, by outside political forces. There should perhaps ultimately be a second referendum with the summer/winter time question, too, to reevaluate the whole problem in the light of all its potential consequences.

Freedom and sunshine

Time will tell. My advice is simply to reintroduce solar time. In geographical terms, time is different in every location — local time, which can be told by the position of the sun. When the sun is at its highest, it's midday. Period. The artificially introduced time zones that span the globe are basically just an anachronistic imposition.

8 German words about time Zeitumstellung This is what happens every year in October and March: Zeitumstellung, or time change. Many people hate it, but others see Zeitumstellung as a reminder that even if we are all bound by time, twice a year we act like we can change it. In Europe, it could all disappear in the future, following an EU vote on eliminating it. But let's wait and see... Negotiations on the topic have apparently stalled.

8 German words about time Zeitschrift Many other German expressions integrate "Zeit," the word for time. A "Zeitschrift" — literally, time writing, is simply a magazine. Whether it includes political discourse or scantily clad women (now with nipples covered), theoretically a magazine should keep up with the times.

8 German words about time Zeitgeist While Zeitgeist can also be used in English, its direct translation — time spirit — conjures up images of Charles Dickens' Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present. Referring to the philosophical idea that each era is characterized by particular ways of thinking, the concept of Zeitgeist dates back to 18th-century philosophers and is often associated with Johann Gottfried Herder.

8 German words about time Mahlzeit Like time itself, food is elementary to the human existence. A "Mahlzeit" simply means "meal time," and can refer to breakfast, lunch or dinner. But it's also used to wish someone else the maximum amount of pleasure while eating. Next time you see a friend chomping down on a sandwich, you can say, "Mahlzeit!"

8 German words about time Hochzeit It's often referred to as the happiest day of your life. In German, it's also a "high time" — a "Hochzeit." Who isn't high on adrenaline and emotion on that day of all days, on which your credit card debt reaches an all-time high? And for some impatient mothers-in-law, it certainly may be "high time" for that son to finally get hitched.

8 German words about time Sauregurkenzeit It's "pickle time!" I'll have a BLT and some chips with that pickle, please... Actually the term "Sauregurkenzeit" originally, in the 18th century, referred to periods when little food was available. Now, it's used during the summer when everyone's on vacation, politics comes to a standstill, the streets are empty, and things get quiet. Pickle anyone?

8 German words about time Zeitgenosse While "Genosse" means "comrade" and has a communist after-taste, a "Zeitgenosse" is anyone who lives at the same time you do: a contemporary. Just think: You are a "Zeitgenosse" of Angela Merkel, Heidi Klum and Cristiano Ronaldo. Your co-worker may not cheer, though, if you tell him he's your "time comrade."

8 German words about time Zeitgefühl German often has a single word for a concept English needs a phrase to express. "Zeitgefühl" is your sense of time — something that suffers when you're concentrating on an important project, staring into the eyes of your sweetheart, or changing the clocks back for daylight savings. Your Zeitgefühl may say it's 8:00 am, but it's really only 7:00. So go back to sleep already! Author: Kate Müser



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