[tz] event of interest: Future of Europe debates – The end of DST: how can it be placed back to the European agenda?

[Paul Eggert]

On 10/25/21 09:16, BASTIAN Michelle via tz wrote:

> https://timeuseweek.beplanet.tv/en/

Thanks for the pointer. I don't see recordings there yet but I assume 
they'll be published in due course.

If I had been there, my question would be "What will be the names of 
time zones in Europe if half of Europe sticks with standard time, the 
other half advances its clocks permanently, and the UK continues to 
switch back and forth?" For example, will "Central European Time" 
continue to mean UTC+1, or will it mean the time that Berlin observes 
even thought that becomes UTC+2; or will we come up with new names for 
the new time zone regime?

Naming may sound like a minor issue but whichever way it's decided, a 
lot of reprogramming will need to be done. You might be surprised by how 
much software out there assumes that "CET" means UTC+1 despite our 
recommendations not to rely on these abbreviations.

And it's not just software that will need reprogramming: the choice of 
names will affect how Europeans think about time.