Clock goes back 1 hour as winter time begins Sunday

The winter time started early Sunday when the clock was turned back by an hour at 4.00am.

The timing may create complications in different sectors, especially in public transport and communication.

The authorities, however, expect that everything will be okay once people get accustomed to the new timing in a few days’ time.

There will be some changes in the bus and train schedules because of the winter time and the people have been asked to follow the timetables mentioned at the bus stoppages for local services.

The schedule for the intercity and long distance bus services will be available on the websites.

The winter time generally starts on the last Sunday of October and continues until the summer time that starts on the last Sunday of March.

Clocks are changed in all EU Member States at the same time on the same date.

Finland has been following separate time schedules for summer and winter since 1981.

The other Nordic countries had introduced summer time a year earlier, and Finland was the last country in Europe to adopt the practice of daylight saving time as a permanent arrangement.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has proposed that all EU Member States stop adjusting the clocks for daylight saving. Finland cannot make a decision on abandoning time changes at the national level; the matter must be decided on by the EU, said a government press release.

The European Parliament voted on the Commission's proposal already in spring 2019. If the Directive is adopted, it will be a joint decision by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. After that it will be nationally implemented in each Member State.

The Council has not yet discussed the proposal, which means that any decision on abandoning time changes can enter into force in 2022 at the earliest. The pandemic caused by coronavirus has also postponed the debate on changing the clocks.

If a decision is reached in the EU to end the practice of daylight-saving time, the Finnish Parliament will choose the permanent standard time for Finland, the press release added.