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| Light Blue | Western European Time / Greenwich Mean Time (UTC) |
| Blue | Western European Time / Greenwich Mean Time (UTC) |
| Western European Summer Time / British Summer Time / Irish Standard Time (UTC+1) | |
| Red | Central European Time (UTC+1) |
| Central European Summer Time (UTC+2) | |
| Yellow | Eastern European Time / Kaliningrad Time (UTC+2) |
| Ochre | Eastern European Time (UTC+2) |
| Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3) | |
| Green | Moscow Time / Turkey Time (UTC+3) |
| Turquoise | Armenia Time / Azerbaijan Time / Georgia Time / Samara Time (UTC+4) |
▉▉▉ Dark colours: Summer time observed
Western European Time (WET, UTC+00:00) is a time zone covering parts of western Europe and consists of countries using UTC+00:00 (also known as Greenwich Mean Time, abbreviated GMT).[1][2] It is one of the three standard time zones in the European Union along with Central European Time and Eastern European Time.[3][2]
The following Western European countries and regions use UTC+00:00 in winter months:
- Portugal, since 1912 with pauses (except Azores, UTC−01:00)[4]
- United Kingdom and Crown Dependencies, since 1847 in England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, and since 1916 in Northern Ireland, with pauses[5][6][7]
- Ireland, since 1916,[8] except between 1968 and 1971[9]
- Canary Islands, since 1946 (rest of Spain is CET, UTC+01:00)[10]
- Faroe Islands, since 1908[11]
- North Eastern Greenland (Danmarkshavn and surrounding area)[12]
- Iceland, since 1968, without summer time changes[13]
All the above countries except Iceland[14] implement daylight saving time in summer (from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October each year), switching to Western European Summer Time (WEST, UTC+01:00), which is one hour ahead of WET.[15] WEST is called British Summer Time in the UK and is legally defined as Irish Standard Time in Ireland.
The nominal span of the UTC+00:00 time zone is 7.5°E to 7.5°W (0° ± 7.5°), but does not include the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Gibraltar or Spain (except Canary Islands) which use Central European Time (CET) even though these are mostly or completely west of 7.5°E. Conversely, Iceland and eastern Greenland use UTC+00:00 although both are west of 7.5°W. In September 2013, a Spanish parliamentary committee recommended switching to UTC+00:00.[16][17][18]
- ^ "EU summer-time arrangements under Directive 2000/84/EC" (PDF). European Parliament. 2017.
- ^ a b "Reasoned opinion on subsidiarity" (PDF). Committee on Legal Affairs –European Parliament. 2019.
- ^ "Seasonal clock change in the EU". European Commission. 2016-09-22. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
- ^ "Time Zones of Portugal". Statoids. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ "Lighter nights would keep youngsters fitter and safer, say doctors". Western Mail. Cardiff. 27 June 2005.
- ^ David Ennals "British Standard Times Bill [Lords]", Hansard, House of Commons Debate, 23 January 1968, vol 757 cc290-366, 290–92
- ^ "British Standard Time", Hansard (HC), 2 December 1970, vol 807 cc1331-422
- ^ "Time Zone & Clock Changes 1900-1924 in Dublin, Ireland". www.timeanddate.com. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ "Time Zone & Clock Changes 1960-1969 in Dublin, Ireland". www.timeanddate.com. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ "Time Zone & Clock Changes 1925-1949 in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain". www.timeanddate.com. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ "Time Zone & Clock Changes 1900-1924 in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands". www.timeanddate.com. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ "Time Zone & Clock Changes in Danmarkshavn, Greenland". www.timeanddate.com. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ "Time Zone & Clock Changes in Reykjavik, Iceland". www.timeanddate.com. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ "Countries that do not observe DST | GreenwichMeanTime.com". greenwichmeantime.com. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ "What Countries Do Daylight Savings?". WorldAtlas. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ "Spain considers time zone change to boost productivity". BBC News. 27 September 2013.
- ^ Hamilos, Paul (26 September 2013). "Adiós, siesta? Spain considers ending Franco's change to working hours". The Guardian (London).
- ^ Dewey, Caitlin (26 September 2013). "Spaniards are less productive, constantly tired because Spain is in the wrong time zone". The Washington Post.