MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Summer time in the European Union.

European Union countries will be advancing the time one hour this Sunday early morning as part of the EU policy to save energy.

The decision means that this Sunday March 28 at 02:00 hours, clocks will be advanced sixty minutes to 03:00 hours, giving Europeans one hour less of sleep.

Some European countries have been applying summer and winter times since the oil crisis of 1974 when Europe was forced to reduce electricity consumption and take the greatest advantage of natural light.

In 2001 the European Parliament made the initiative enforceable to all EU country members. Meaning that EU has two seasonal time changes: summer time beginning the last Sunday of March when clocks are put forward sixty minutes and winter time, last Sunday of October when clocks are set back sixty minutes.