Valencia regional gov't asks for debate over Spanish time zone

The regional government of the autonomous community of Valencia has asked the Spanish government to open the debate as to whether the country should remain in the Central European time-zone (CET) or adopt Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

The Valencia regional government has issued an institutional declaration highlighting that if Spain switched to GMT, people would enjoy "more light when they finish their daily work."

It also said that not putting the clocks back an hour at the end of October would "promote more activities in the fresh air," adding that having more people in the streets could also lead to a higher volume of sales in small shops while people would "spend less money on energy use."

"It is impossible to deny that maintaining the time zone for summer would have economic and social benefits: our geographic situation demands that we take more advantage of the hours of sunlight during winter," it said.

This request came just three days after all parties in the regional government of the Balearic Islands voted for summer time in the archipelago which is situated in the Mediterranean Sea off the east coast of Spain.

The regional government of the Balearic Islands highlighted the energy saving, benefits to small business and the tourist industry, as well as potential health benefits of an extra hour of daylight.

It has also been pointed out that Spain's westerly longitude makes GMT the more logical time zone. Endit