No change on clocks for Spain and Canaries

Recent reports that Spain will end biannual clock changes next year remain unconfirmed and any such decision appears to be highly unlikely.

Sources including the Daily Mirror have reported that Spain and the Canaries will end the practice of putting clocks forward in March and back in October next year. However, there has been no official announcement to this effect. An Official State Bulletin published in March 2021 provided dates for the next five years, including 2026, but that does not mean these are the last time changes that will ever take place.

If Spain did decide to abandon time changes, it would probably result from an EU directive on the issue. However, while the European Parliament voted in favour of abolishing Daylight-Saving Time in 2021, the European Council has not yet decided on the matter.  The approval of both bodies would be required for any legislation to take place, and there is no indication that the Council is anywhere close to adopting a final position on the matter. 

The question of which time zone would be adopted permanently in Spain would also be highly controversial. General Franco decided to adopt Central European Time in 1940 to bring Spain into line with German-occupied Europe, but many Spaniards wish to revert to Western European Time (GMT) – the time zone that the Canaries currently operate in.

However, it is likely that the Canaries would wish to maintain it’s one hour difference with the mainland, meaning that the islands may return to GMT – 1. If this were adopted all year round, it would mean sunrises and sunsets that would occur an hour earlier in winter and two hours earlier in summer.