Spain is a few days away from having to change time again since, between October 26 and 27, we enter the winter time. It is common on the last weekend of October to see a timetable change in our country to switch to winter time. The Official State Gazette (BOE) has confirmed that until at least 2026 they will take place two time changes per year. From there, we will have to see what happens because there are more and more voices disagreeing with the time change and even the European Union has spoken out on the issue.
Summer in Spain said goodbye this September 22 to give way to autumn. We will have to wait a few more days for the traditional time change which will take place in the early hours of October 26 and 27, when three hours will become two hours. On this day, Spain will officially switch to winter time until March 30, when the clock will return to traditional summer time.
These two time changes have taken place in Spain since 1974 with the aim of saving energy and being able to adjust the time working day during the day they will continue to be produced at least until 2026, as stipulated in the Official State Gazette inside Royal Decree 236/2002. From this date we will have to see what happens regarding the time change, as it seems that Spain is working to prevent this from happening.
This standard also talks about it. “In its report of March 20, 2019, the Commission of Experts concluded, on the one hand, that it was not appropriate to proceed with a hasty change of time zones as long as there was no shared consensus and practical dissemination to our citizens of the risks and opportunities that this entails”, indicates the text published by the BOE.
The controversy with the time change
The controversy surrounding the time change has been on the table for years. European Union and even from Brussels, a consultation took place, in which 4.5 million people participated and in which 90% voted not to change the time. He European Parliament He ignored these results and gave freedom to member countries to make whatever decision they deemed appropriate. For example, Ukraine approved the abolition of time change a few months ago, so October 27 will be the last time it applies this practice.
As for Spain, in recent years skeptics regarding the time change have increased and therefore the CIS made a request last 2019. If the Pedro Sanchez With Tezanos at the helm this is of some use, the results showed that 62% of Spaniards wanted to end the time change and 65% preferred to stay on DST. This would be another reason to debate, since we would have to opt for one of the two schedules and this is rather a reason for debate. So, initially, Spain will have to live with its two time changes until 2026… and what will happen after that is unknown.
Spain time zone
Beyond the time change, another reason for controversy in Spain is the famous time zone in which we find ourselves in our country and it really does not correspond to us. Since 1940, Spain has been on Central European Time, so it is one hour ahead of the sun in winter and two in summer. The Spanish territory shares time with countries like France, Germany, Italy and the rest of the Central European countries while due to its geographical location it should actually be in the time zone of United Kingdom or Portugal.
This is due to Francisco Franco, who made this decision for “the convenience that the national time conforms to that of other European countries.” Thus, since the early hours of March 16, 1940, when eleven in the evening became midnight, Spain has been in a time zone that does not correspond to it. In reality, you will need to be on Western time and live on Canary Islands, Portugal or UK time.
