In a move that will reduce the time difference between Armenia and Europe, the Armenian government announced on Thursday that it will stop switching to daylight saving time starting from this year.
The government approved legal amendments that would abolish the seasonal time zone changes. They were drafted by two deputies from the ruling Republican Party (HHK).
As has been the case in the European Union, clocks in Armenia have for decades been turned forward and backward in March and October respectively. The country is currently four hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and three hours ahead of Central European Time. Moscow and much of European Russia are in the same time zone.
“We have carried out quite serious time calculations and economic evaluations and after becoming convinced that this step will have a positive impact … the final decision was made by the government today,” Economy Minister Tigran Davtian said after a weekly cabinet meeting. “It will be formalized by the [proposed] changes in the law.”
“I think this decision will make our life easier and also be good for the economy,” Davtian told journalists. “It’s more convenient to be closer, in terms of time, to our trading and investment partners.”
The decision means that the time difference between Armenia and central and western Europe will be reduced to two hours from March through October. Davtian said it should eventually be cut further because geographically the South Caucasus state is located in the so-called GMT+3 time zone. During the Soviet era it was in GMT+5 in summer months.
The government approved legal amendments that would abolish the seasonal time zone changes. They were drafted by two deputies from the ruling Republican Party (HHK).
As has been the case in the European Union, clocks in Armenia have for decades been turned forward and backward in March and October respectively. The country is currently four hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and three hours ahead of Central European Time. Moscow and much of European Russia are in the same time zone.
“We have carried out quite serious time calculations and economic evaluations and after becoming convinced that this step will have a positive impact … the final decision was made by the government today,” Economy Minister Tigran Davtian said after a weekly cabinet meeting. “It will be formalized by the [proposed] changes in the law.”
“I think this decision will make our life easier and also be good for the economy,” Davtian told journalists. “It’s more convenient to be closer, in terms of time, to our trading and investment partners.”
The decision means that the time difference between Armenia and central and western Europe will be reduced to two hours from March through October. Davtian said it should eventually be cut further because geographically the South Caucasus state is located in the so-called GMT+3 time zone. During the Soviet era it was in GMT+5 in summer months.