Clocks Change 2026: Every European Country's DST Dates

The Short Version: Europe Changed on March 29, 2026

Every EU member state and most of the rest of Europe moved their clocks forward by one hour on Sunday, March 29, 2026, at 2:00 AM local time. Clocks jumped to 3:00 AM. If you're reading this after March 29, Europe is already in summer time.

The autumn reversal — clocks falling back — will happen on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 3:00 AM, when clocks revert to 2:00 AM.

This guide covers every European country individually: when they changed, which zone they're in now, and what it means for scheduling calls with Europe. It also covers the important exceptions — Turkey, Russia, Iceland, and Belarus — which do not observe DST at all.

EU Countries: All Changed March 29, 2026

EU Directive 2000/84/EC mandates that all EU member states change clocks on the same dates: last Sunday in March (spring) and last Sunday in October (autumn). In 2026, that's March 29 and October 25. Here's each country's current status:

Non-EU European Countries That Still Observe DST

Several European countries that are not EU members also follow the EU DST schedule:

• Albania — CET → CEST (UTC+1 → UTC+2), changed March 29
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — CET → CEST, changed March 29
• Kosovo — CET → CEST, changed March 29
• North Macedonia — CET → CEST, changed March 29
• Montenegro — CET → CEST, changed March 29
• Serbia — CET → CEST, changed March 29
• Moldova — EET → EEST (UTC+2 → UTC+3), changed March 29
• Ukraine — EET → EEST, changed March 29

Countries That Do NOT Observe DST in Europe

Four European countries are notable exceptions and stay on the same time year-round:

Turkey

Turkey permanently abandoned DST in 2016, locking clocks to UTC+3 year-round. This means Turkey is no longer synchronized with Central European Time in winter (CET is UTC+1) — a gap that has complicated business scheduling between Turkey and its European neighbors. During EU summer time, Turkey at UTC+3 is only 1 hour ahead of CEST countries (UTC+2), but in winter, Turkey at UTC+3 is 2 hours ahead of CET countries (UTC+1).

The Turkish government's stated reason was energy savings and reducing the disruption of clock changes. The decision was controversial domestically, particularly because it means that in winter, Istanbul (at 28°E longitude) sees sunrise as late as 8:40 AM. Critics argued Turkey should have stayed on UTC+2 (CET) year-round instead, which would have given more natural sunrise times.

Russia

Russia permanently abandoned DST in 2014, staying on "winter time" year-round (though confusingly, Russia moved to permanent summer time briefly in 2011, which proved deeply unpopular due to very dark mornings, and reversed course in 2014). Russia spans 11 time zones, from UTC+2 (Kaliningrad) to UTC+12 (Kamchatka). None of them observe DST.

Moscow is currently at UTC+3 (MSK) year-round. This makes Moscow 2 hours ahead of Berlin in winter (CET, UTC+1) and only 1 hour ahead in summer (CEST, UTC+2). If you're scheduling calls between Moscow and Western Europe, the effective time difference changes by 1 hour after March 29 — even though Russia didn't change.

Iceland

Iceland is permanently at UTC+0 (GMT) year-round. Since Iceland is at very high latitude (64°N), the daylight extremes are so dramatic that DST would be largely meaningless — in June, the sun barely sets; in December, it barely rises. Iceland simply stays at UTC+0 and doesn't bother with seasonal adjustments. This makes Iceland consistently 1 hour behind the UK in summer (when the UK is on BST, UTC+1) but aligned with the UK in winter.

Belarus

Belarus permanently moved to UTC+3 in 2011 and stopped observing DST. Like Turkey, this has created a permanent mismatch with neighboring EU countries. Warsaw (Poland) is at UTC+2 in summer and UTC+1 in winter; Minsk (Belarus) stays at UTC+3 all year, meaning the gap between Warsaw and Minsk varies from 1 hour in summer to 2 hours in winter.

The Pending EU DST Abolition — Still Stalled

In 2019, the European Parliament voted 410–192 to abolish seasonal clock changes, allowing each member state to choose their permanent time (either permanent summer time or permanent winter time). The proposal required member states to coordinate so neighboring countries don't end up in incompatible zones. Implementation was supposed to happen by 2021.

As of April 2026, it hasn't happened. The directive stalled in the Council of the EU — the body where member governments negotiate — primarily because member states couldn't agree on which permanent time to adopt. Spain wants permanent summer time; France leans the same way. But if France goes to permanent CEST (UTC+2) and Poland stays on permanent CET (UTC+1), they'd be in different time zones year-round, breaking decades of alignment.

The deadlock continues. Unless there's political movement before the October 25, 2026 autumn change, Europe will fall back on schedule.

Scheduling Across Time Zones After March 29

For anyone scheduling calls or meetings between North America and Europe, March 29 created a brief adjustment period. Here's why:

The US springs forward on the second Sunday in March (March 8 in 2026). Europe springs forward on the last Sunday in March (March 29 in 2026). That's a 3-week window where Europe hadn't changed yet.

During those 3 weeks (March 8–28, 2026), if you were scheduling a 3 PM Eastern call with a London colleague: London was still at UTC+0 (GMT), so that's 8 PM in London — later than expected. From March 29 onward, London moved to BST (UTC+1), restoring the more familiar offset.

The US-Europe time difference matrix after March 29:

When Do the Clocks Change in Autumn?

All EU countries and most European non-EU countries will set clocks back one hour on Sunday, October 25, 2026:

• Countries on CET (UTC+1 in winter): clocks move from 3:00 AM CEST → 2:00 AM CET
• Countries on EET (UTC+2 in winter): clocks move from 4:00 AM EEST → 3:00 AM EET
• Portugal, UK, Ireland: clocks move from 2:00 AM WEST/BST → 1:00 AM WET/GMT

Note that the US autumn change happens on November 1, 2026 (first Sunday in November). This creates another 1-week window where Europe has already fallen back but the US hasn't — temporarily making US-Europe calls an hour earlier than usual from the European perspective.

Find DST Dates for Your Country

The DST calendar covers every country that observes daylight saving time, with exact spring-forward and fall-back dates for 2025 and 2026. For real-time timezone conversion including current DST status, the timezone converter handles any two locations worldwide.