Spain will still change clocks next week as Italy steps up push for permanent summer time

People in Spain will still put their clocks back next Sunday, despite a fresh Italian push to end the twice-yearly time change and keep summer time all year. The proposal comes just days before the October 25 switch, but it does not change the rules or mean Spain will escape the darker evenings that come with winter time.

Italian MP Andrea Barabotti has presented a resolution calling on the Italian government to restart discussions at European Union level, back permanent summer time and consider testing a single time system across the bloc. It is a proposal to push the debate forward, not an adopted government policy or a change in the law but for those of us living in Spain, the immediate plan still remains the same: clocks go back by one hour next Sunday, giving people an extra hour in bed but bringing earlier sunsets.

What Italy is proposing

The resolution was presented in Rome on October 15 by Barabotti, a member of the right-wing League party, following a parliamentary inquiry into the effects of keeping summer time throughout the year. It calls on the Italian government to press for negotiations with EU institutions to resume and reach a conclusion, support permanent summer time in Italy and submit the inquiry’s findings to the European Commission.

It also proposes backing a European trial of permanent summer time, provided the necessary legal framework is agreed and the effects on energy use, health and the economy are monitored. The resolution however does not mean that Italy can go ahead and stop changing its clocks. It asks the government to push for a change that would require action at EU level, rather than simply changing the country’s time rules unilaterally.

Italy has not agreed which time to keep

The latest move follows a unanimous vote on October 1, when the Italian Chamber of Deputies’ Committee on Productive Activities, Trade and Tourism approved the final report of its inquiry into permanent summer time. The committee agreed on the report, but not on what Italy should do next. Some favour trying permanent summer time first, while others want to move straight to keeping it all year. Any change would also need to be coordinated with the rest of the EU.

It also stresses the need to work with European institutions to avoid countries adopting conflicting arrangements. The debate includes arguments about energy use, health, road safety and the amount of daylight available after work. Supporters of permanent summer time argue that lighter evenings would benefit leisure activities, shops and tourism. However, the committee heard differing views on the health effects, with sleep specialists favouring permanent standard time rather than summer time.

Spain’s clock change goes ahead on October 25

Spain’s government has also called for the seasonal clock changes to end. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez raised the issue at a European meeting in October 2025, arguing that the practice should be abolished. But the EU has not yet reached an agreement, so Spain’s position has not changed the timetable. Under the official calendar published in Spain’s Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE), clocks go back in the early hours of Sunday, October 25. On mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands, 3am becomes 2am. In the Canary Islands, 2am becomes 1am.

The current EU system remains in force because member states have not agreed on how to end the twice-yearly changes or which time each country should keep. The European Parliament backed ending the system in 2019, but the Council of the EU has yet to adopt its position, leaving the proposal unresolved. Spain is therefore still set to change its clocks on October 25, with no date in place for ending the twice-yearly switch. Italy’s proposal is the latest attempt to get EU governments back around the table, but the current system remains in force.