Will Malta stick to summer time? Cabinet will decide tomorrow

Ministers will have a timely decision to make in Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting as they mull whether Malta should stop shifting its clocks back and forth.

The Cabinet will be deciding what stand to take at a European level in the ongoing debate as to whether daylight saving time should be abolished.

European Affairs Minister Helena Dalli said Malta will have to decide whether it wants the twice-yearly shift in time to end and if yes, whether clocks should be turned back one hour to winter daylight saving time for the last time. Alternatively, Malta may want to stick to summer daylight saving time.

The European Commission is leading a debate on the matter with the intention of putting forward a directive that every country will have to comply with. If it goes through, the directive will take effect from April 2019 and all countries will have to implement it by 27 October 2019.

The government last week launched an online poll as part of a consultation exercise and today Dalli met the social partners for their feedback.

READ ALSO: Have your say on whether we should call time on daylight saving

One of the concerns raised during the meeting was related to trade, particularly, shipping trade. “Malta has to be careful when it comes to countries such as Italy, Spain and other Mediterranean states since there could be negative repercussions if Italy and Malta end up in two different time zones,” a representative of the General Workers’ Union said.

He called for an open dialogue with other countries in the Mediterranean, noting also that any changes to time could lead to workers’ shifts being altered. “The GWU, generally speaking, would prefer to stick with summer time,” he added.

A representative from the Transport Ministry said that importance had to be given to airport slots. The slots in Heathrow, particularly, were lucrative and the country could not afford to lose them if the change in time has a negative impact. “This will have to be taken into consideration.”

Dalli said the different views were being considered but noted that the final position is unlikely to please everyone. “We would like to adopt a position that broadly reflects what Malta as a whole believes,” she said.

Parliamentary Secretary Aaron Farrugia said the rhythm of an individual was important and thought it could be beneficial in terms of health to stick to one time instead of changing twice a year.