Clocks will fall back by one hour across Monaco and the European Union on the night of Saturday 24th October into Sunday 25th October, marking the annual transition to winter time.

At 3am local time, clocks will be set back 60 minutes to 2am, granting an extra hour of sleep overnight while bringing lighter mornings and earlier evening darkness.

Regional alignment and history

Though non-EU, the Principality of Monaco maintains complete time-zone alignment with France and neighbouring European states. Monaco observes Central European Time (CET) in winter and Central European Summer Time (CEST) in summer.

Seasonal daylight saving measures were initially introduced in France following the 1973–1974 oil crisis to lower energy consumption. In 1998, dates for clock adjustments were standardised across European Union member states to maintain seamless cross-border transport, trade, and communication networks.

Under the harmonised schedule, participating nations switch to winter time on the final Sunday of October and revert to summer time on the last Sunday of March.

Proposed reform remains suspended 

In March 2019, the European Parliament supported a directive to end bi-annual clock adjustments starting in 2021. However, implementation required approval from member state governments through the Council of the European Union.

Disagreements over whether to remain permanently on summer or winter time, coupled with administrative disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, led to the proposal being put on hold indefinitely. 

The directive is currently not on the European Union’s active agenda, keeping the current twice-yearly time change in place.

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Photo Credit: Pexels – Seyma Emine Tamer Gul