Moldova switches to daylight saving time on last Sunday of March: 3:00 → 4:00
The Republic of Moldova will transition to daylight saving time on the last Sunday of March, when the clock will move from 3:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. This decision, approved by the Government on February 25, establishes that daylight saving time in Moldova aligns with the practices of the European Union member states.
The official time in the Republic of Moldova is set to the UTC+2 time zone, which aligns with the time observed in eight European Union member states: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania, as well as the neighboring country, Ukraine.
In Moldova, similar to other southern states, the variation in daylight hours throughout the year is minimal. Therefore, the impact of changing the clocks for daylight saving time is not very pronounced from an energy-saving perspective.
However, eliminating the seasonal time change could entail costs for reconfiguring and reprogramming information technology systems. As Moldova prepares to join the European Union, it aligns its summer time with EU member states, following the 2001 Directive that mandates a coordinated transition to daylight saving time.
According to official documents, "Depending on subsequent changes in the summer time observed by EU member states, Moldova's summer time will be adjusted accordingly through a government decision."
Cristina Ceban, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization of Moldova (MDRD), highlighted during a meeting that the need for time synchronization is growing due to advancing digitalization processes. She stated, "A synchronized and harmonized time ensures seamless transport and logistics, secure and timely payments, efficient banking operations, reliable functioning of IT and telecommunications systems, and predictability within the business environment."
We remind you that, following a survey conducted in the EU, the European Commission proposed discontinuing the biannual seasonal time change. On March 26, 2019, Members of the European Parliament voted to implement this change starting in 2021, but the process remains incomplete.
In Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada voted in 2024 to establish winter time as the only time throughout the year. However, the president did not sign the bill, so the seasonal time change continues under the usual regulations.
Daylight saving time concludes on the last Sunday of October, when clocks are set back from 4:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m., returning to standard time.
