Will we soon see the border regions separated from the Luxembourgish nation not only by distance, but also by time? 9am in Metz and Trier but 10am in Luxembourg City? No doubt the prospect would upset commuting employees and employers alike.
Missed alarms aside, the time difference could cause serious issues for the whole of Luxembourg and its workers, nearly half of whom live beyond its borders.
The Prime Minister acknowledged the potential impact as he answered Mars Di Bartolomeo’s (of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party) parliamentary question.
It would be necessary to do all that they could to prevent citizens and economic actors from being confronted with a time difference, not withstanding the current discrepancies that already exist between the Greater Region and the rest of the single market, said the Prime Minister.
In order to avoid the widespread confusion of a time lag, Luxembourg intends to discuss the question with its neighbours and Benelux partners before reaching out to the rest of Europe. These are potentially problematic discussions, as France and Germany have a preference for maintaining daylight saving time, while the Netherlands wishes to keep winter time. Belgium has not yet announced an opinion.
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