Western European Summer Time / British Summer Time / Irish Standard Time (UTC+1)
Red
Central European Time (UTC+1)
Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)
Yellow
Eastern European Time / Kaliningrad Time (UTC+2)
Ochre
Eastern European Time (UTC+2)
Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3)
Green
Moscow Time / Turkey Time (UTC+3)
Turquoise
Armenia Time / Azerbaijan Time / Georgia Time / Samara Time (UTC+4)
▉▉▉▉ Pale colours: Standard time observed all year ▉▉▉ Dark colours: Summer time observed
Europe spans seven primary time zones (from UTC−01:00 to UTC+05:00), excluding summer time offsets (five of them can be seen on the map, with one further-western zone containing the Azores, and one further-eastern zone spanning the European part of Kazakhstan). Most European countries use summer time and harmonise their summer time adjustments; see Summer time in Europe for details.
The time zones actually in use in Europe differ significantly from uniform zoning based purely on longitude, as used for example under the nautical time system. The world could in theory be divided into 24 time zones, each of 15 degrees of longitude. However, due to geographical and cultural factors, it is not practical to divide the world so evenly, and actual time zones may differ significantly from those based purely on longitude. In Europe, the widespread use of Central European Time (CET) causes major variations in some areas from solar time. Based on solar time, CET would range from 7.5 to 22.5°E. However, for example Spain (almost entirely in the Western hemisphere) and France (almost entirely west of 7.5°E, as illustrated in the map below) should theoretically use UTC, as they did before the Second World War.[1] The general result is a solar noon which is much later than clock noon, and later sunrises and sunsets than should theoretically happen. The Benelux countries should also theoretically use GMT.
Russia and Belarus observed "permanent summer time" between March 2011 and October 2014.[2] Since October 2014 Russia has observed "permanent winter time". Iceland can be considered to be on "de facto" permanent summer time because, since 1968, it has used UTC time all year, despite being located more than 15° west of the prime meridian. It should therefore be located in UTC−01:00, but chooses to remain closer to continental European time, resulting in legal times significantly in advance of local solar time; this is of little practical significance owing to the wide variations in daylight hours in that country.
The European Commission proposed in September 2018 ending the observance of summer time in the EU.[3] In March 2019, the European Parliament voted in favour of proposing ending seasonal clock changes in 2021.[4] Legislation of the EU is decided by both the Parliament and the Council of the European Union, and the Council had not made its decision.[5] Each Member State had until April 2020 to decide whether to remain permanently on their previous "summer time" or their "winter time".
This map shows the difference between legal time and local mean time in Europe during the winter. Most of Western Europe and the western part of European Russia are significantly ahead of local solar time.
Colour
Legal time vs local mean time
1 h ± 30 m behind
0 h ± 30 m
1 h ± 30 m ahead
2 h ± 30 m ahead
This map shows the difference between legal time and local mean time in Europe during the summer. Most of Western Europe is significantly ahead of local solar time.
Colour
Legal time vs local mean time
1 h ± 30 m behind
0 h ± 30 m
1 h ± 30 m ahead
2 h ± 30 m ahead
3 h ± 30 m ahead
^Poulle, Yvonne (1999). "La France à l'heure allemande" [France on German time] (PDF). Bibliothèque de l'école des chartes (in French). 157 (2): 493–502. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
^Parfitt, Tom; Meikle, James (25 March 2011). "Think of the cows: clocks go forward for the last time in Russia". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
^"State of the Union 2018: Q&A on the Commission's proposal to put an end to seasonal clock changes", European Commission − Press Release (Strasbourg, 12 September 2018).
^Buckle, Anne (Mar 26, 2019). "European Union Ready to Scrap DST". timeanddate.com. Archived from the original on Oct 12, 2023.
^"Procedure File: 2018/0332(COD)". Legislative Observatory | European Parliament. Archived from the original on Oct 29, 2023.
the European part of Kazakhstan). Most European countries use summer time and harmonise their summer time adjustments; see Summer timeinEurope for details...
EuropeanTime (CET) is a standard time of Central, and parts of Western Europe, which is one hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The time...
Greenwich Mean Time (also known as Western EuropeanTime or UTC) and British Summer Time (UTC+01:00) (also known as Western European Summer Time). Until the...
Eastern EuropeanTime (EET) is one of the names of UTC+02:00 time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. The zone uses daylight saving time, so...
Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+02:00), sometimes referred to as Central European Daylight Time (CEDT), is the standard clock time observed during...
The time zone in Germany is Central EuropeanTime (Mitteleuropäische Zeit, MEZ; UTC+01:00) and Central European Summer Time (Mitteleuropäische Sommerzeit...
The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and (CENELEC) adopted ISO 8601 with EN 28601, now EN ISO 8601. As a European Norm, CEN and CENELEC member...
Eastern EuropeanTime (EET) in October 2017. During some seasons (March-October), the TRT is also on the same time as Eastern European Summer Time. The IANA...
the time zone was changed to Central EuropeanTimein 1940 and has remained so since then, meaning that Spain does not use its "natural" time zone under...
to re-adopt WET as standard time. Therefore, Portugal re-adopted Western EuropeanTime (UTC+00:00) as its standard timein 1976. DST started to be observed...
months. This is defined in contrast to the other states in the European Union, which operate one hour ahead of standard time during the summer period...
In Romania, the standard time is Eastern EuropeanTime (Romanian: Ora Europei de Est; EET; UTC+02:00). Daylight saving time, which moves one hour ahead...
there are European locales that despite lying in an area with a "physical" UTC+03:00 time, are in another time zone; likewise, there are European areas that...
Eastern EuropeanTime (EET) during the winter as standard time and Eastern European Summer Time (EEST) during the summer as daylight saving time. EET is...
Timein Poland is given by Central EuropeanTime (Polish: Czas środkowoeuropejski; CET; UTC+01:00). Daylight saving time, which moves an hour ahead, is...
In Greece, the standard time is Eastern EuropeanTime (Greek: Ώρα Ανατολικής Ευρώπης; EET; UTC+02:00). Daylight saving time, which moves one hour ahead...
In Sweden, the standard time is Central EuropeanTime (CET; UTC+01:00; Swedish: centraleuropeisk tid). Daylight saving time is observed from the last...
France uses Central EuropeanTime (heure d'Europe centrale, UTC+01:00) as its standard time, and observes Central European Summer Time (heure d'été d'Europe...
Timein the Czech Republic is given by Central EuropeanTime (Středoevropský čas, SEČ: UTC+01:00) and Central European Summer Time (Středoevropský letní...
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north...
Greenland, uses six time zones. UTC+01:00 as standard time, and UTC+02:00 as daylight saving time, with transition dates according to the European Union rules...
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