Turkey Considers Daylight Saving All Year Round

In the meantime, the country will end its daylight saving schedule for 2008 when the clocks turn back by one hour on October 26.

On August 13, 2008, timeanddate.com contacted Turkey’s General Directorate of Energy Affairs. A spokesperson advised that no concrete decision had been made about the 12-month daylight saving plan and some proposals related to energy issues were still being discussed. timeanddate.com also contacted various government offices, including the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, but they were unable to clarify the precise time daylight saving would end in Turkey in 2008. The Turkish Embassy’s press office in the United Kingdom confirmed the finishing date and time of the country’s daylight saving schedule in 2008.

A Step Further for the 12-month Daylight Saving Proposal

According to newspaper Hürriyet, Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Ministry reached a consensus with the relevant institutions regarding implementing daylight saving time all year round and a change of reference meridian. However, the Council of Ministers need to approve the proposed changes and if it is approved, airlines, banks, stock exchange organizations and other organizations have two years to adapt to the changes before an all-year daylight saving schedule is implemented.

Debate among Government Agencies

In March, 2008, Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler announced that the government considered implementing daylight saving time all year round, according to Anatolian Agency. After a meeting in Ankara, the Energy Minister told reporters about plans to implement daylight saving time all year round. Guler’s proposition sparked a reaction from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, which objected to the proposal, saying that such a plan would increase the time difference between Turkey and other countries in Europe and could have negative effect on trade relations.

Daylight Saving Schedule in 2008

Turkey began its daylight saving time on March 30, 2008, when the clocks moved forward by one hour at 3am. During the daylight saving period, Turkey is on Eastern European Summer Time (EEST), which is three hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Daylight saving time ends on the last weekend of October in 2008 when the clocks will be set back by one hour on October 26. Turkey will then observe Eastern European Time (EET) which is two hours ahead of UTC. Daylight saving time has been implemented in Turkey in previous years for the following reasons: to save electricity; to ensure Turkish time is in synchronization with times in most European countries; and to decrease the evening energy demand.