27/03/2019
UUP Brand EU Vote To End Daylight Saving 'Reckless'
An Ulster Unionist representative in the European Parliament has hit out at the proposal to stop the one hour clock change that extends daylight hours in the summer EU wide.
The European Parliament voted to scrap the twice-a-year custom by 2021, a change that would apply to the UK if it stays in the EU.
MEP Jim Nicholson accused the EU of literal time wasting and "fiddling around with clocks" in the face of serious issues, not least Brexit.
Speaking in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, he commented: "The reality is that the removal of bi-annual clock changes will lead to many unintended consequences. It is now conceivable that a post-Brexit UK will end up in a different time zone to the Republic of Ireland. Newry and Dundalk would be in different time zones, so would Keady and Castleblaney and also Belcoo and Blacklion! The whole idea is completely ludicrous; it just does not make sense.
"I fear this will not be a situation unique to the British Isles. Illogical time zones will appear all across Europe, disrupting both business and the public.
"The Parliament's decision is not only reckless, but also extremely concerning. It really is a farcical situation."
(JG/CM)
The European Parliament voted to scrap the twice-a-year custom by 2021, a change that would apply to the UK if it stays in the EU.
MEP Jim Nicholson accused the EU of literal time wasting and "fiddling around with clocks" in the face of serious issues, not least Brexit.
Speaking in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, he commented: "The reality is that the removal of bi-annual clock changes will lead to many unintended consequences. It is now conceivable that a post-Brexit UK will end up in a different time zone to the Republic of Ireland. Newry and Dundalk would be in different time zones, so would Keady and Castleblaney and also Belcoo and Blacklion! The whole idea is completely ludicrous; it just does not make sense.
"I fear this will not be a situation unique to the British Isles. Illogical time zones will appear all across Europe, disrupting both business and the public.
"The Parliament's decision is not only reckless, but also extremely concerning. It really is a farcical situation."
(JG/CM)
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