CET Time Zone - Central European Time Guide

I've scheduled hundreds of calls with European teams over the years. Every single time I see "CET" in a meeting invite, I have to stop and think: is this winter or summer? Are they at UTC+1 or UTC+2 right now?

Central European Time covers Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, and another 25+ countries across Europe. That's roughly 500 million people in one timezone. If you work with anyone in Europe, you'll deal with CET constantly.

Here's what actually matters when working across CET.

CET is UTC+1 (Winter) or UTC+2 (Summer)

During winter months, CET runs at UTC+1. That makes it 6 hours ahead of New York, 9 hours ahead of Los Angeles, and 8 hours behind Tokyo.

But from late March to late October, Europe switches to CEST (Central European Summer Time) at UTC+2. Now it's only 5 hours ahead of New York during US daylight time.

The IANA timezone database uses names like "Europe/Paris" or "Europe/Berlin" to handle this automatically. Much cleaner than remembering whether it's CET or CEST.

When it's noon UTC:

• London shows 12:00 (winter) or 13:00 (summer)
• Paris, Berlin, Madrid show 13:00 (winter) or 14:00 (summer)
• New York shows 07:00 (winter) or 08:00 (summer daylight)
• Tokyo shows 21:00 year-round

The DST Mismatch Problem

Here's something that wrecks calendars twice a year: Europe and North America change their clocks on different weekends.

US and Canada jump to daylight time on the second Sunday of March. Europe waits until the last Sunday of March. That's usually 2-3 weeks where the time gap shrinks by an hour.

Same thing happens in fall. The US falls back on the first Sunday of November, but Europe already switched on the last Sunday of October. Another few weeks of confusion.

I've seen this break recurring meetings. Your 3 PM CET / 9 AM EST standup suddenly happens at 10 AM EST for two weeks, and half the team misses it because their calendar didn't update.

Check dates manually during March and October. Don't trust automated conversions during those transition weeks. Timeanddate.com is reliable for double-checking.

Who Actually Uses CET?

Western Europe: France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium

Central Europe: Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland

Scandinavia: Sweden, Norway, Denmark

Balkans: Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia

Switzerland and Norway aren't in the EU but follow the same clock changes. The EU standardized DST transitions back in the 1990s, so everyone shifts together.

Some African countries use UTC+1 year-round without DST changes. Nigeria calls it West Africa Time (WAT). Algeria and Tunisia sit at UTC+1 permanently.

European Business Hours Don't Work Like US Hours

Most German offices run 9 AM to 5 PM. Not 9 to 6. And they mean it.

I once scheduled a 5:30 PM CET call with a team in Munich. Half the attendees didn't show. Their manager later explained that anything after 5 PM needs advance notice and a good reason. They call it "Feierabend" — the time when work ends and personal time begins.

Spain runs later. Offices might open at 10 AM and close at 7 PM, with a longer lunch break. France sits somewhere in the middle, around 9 AM to 6 PM, but August basically shuts down. Executives take 3-4 week vacations, and nobody expects decisions during that month.

Nordic countries might wrap up at 4 PM. Seriously. They value work-life balance more than answering emails at night.

If you're scheduling with Europe, aim for their afternoon. That's your morning in the US, which works for everyone.

Finding Meeting Times with US Timezones

The 4-hour window from 2 PM to 6 PM CET works perfectly with the US East Coast. That's 8 AM to noon in New York. Europeans are finishing their day, Americans are starting theirs.

For West Coast teams, it's brutal. 5 PM CET is 8 AM Pacific. Anything later requires Europeans to stay past dinner, which they won't do regularly. I've worked with SF-based companies that rotate sacrifice — Europeans stay late one week, Americans start at 6 AM the next week.

If you've got teams on both US coasts plus Europe, someone's getting screwed. Rotate the pain or split into regional meetings. Our US-Europe collaboration guide covers rotation strategies.

Working with Asia from CET

Early morning CET catches the end of business hours in Asia.

8 AM to 9 AM CET hits 4 PM to 5 PM in Tokyo. You'll catch Japanese colleagues at the end of their day, though they'll need to stay a bit late.

China's easier — the window from 8 AM to 10 AM CET aligns with 3 PM to 5 PM Beijing time.

India's actually pretty good. 10 AM to 2 PM CET matches up with midafternoon in Bangalore or Mumbai, so nobody's taking calls at weird hours.

Australia's tough. You'd need 7 AM CET to catch them before they leave at 5 PM AEST. I've rarely seen that work long-term.

Practical Tips That Actually Help

Always specify the UTC offset. Don't write "3 PM CET" — write "3 PM CET (UTC+1)" or "3 PM CEST (UTC+2)". Saves everyone from guessing.

Use timezone-aware tools. Manual math fails during DST transitions. Our timezone converter handles the edge cases automatically.

Don't schedule Friday afternoons. Germans leave early. Parisians mentally check out. Fridays are for wrapping up, not big decisions.

Avoid Monday mornings. Europeans need time to catch up from the weekend. Tuesday through Thursday gives you the best engagement.

Mark European holidays in your calendar. Christmas runs from December 24 through January 1. Easter weekend includes Friday and Monday. August is vacation month in France and Southern Europe. National holidays vary by country — Germany has different holidays than Italy.

When CET Gets Messy

The "right to disconnect" is legally protected in France. Employees can ignore after-hours emails without consequences. Germany has similar cultural norms even without the law.

This isn't like Silicon Valley, where 10 PM Slack messages are normal. If you send late-night requests to European teams, don't expect responses until the next business day.

I once worked with a US exec who kept scheduling 7 PM CET calls. The European team complained to HR. The exec didn't understand why — in California, 10 AM seemed perfectly reasonable. The HR conversation clarified that you can't force regular late-hours meetings without explicit agreement.

The Bottom Line

CET means UTC+1 in winter, UTC+2 in summer. That's the technical part.

The human part: Europeans protect their personal time, take longer vacations, and won't answer emails at midnight just because you're in a different timezone.

Schedule meetings between 2 PM and 6 PM CET if you're working with US East Coast teams. That's your best overlap.

For Asia, use early morning CET. For US West Coast, someone's staying late or starting early — rotate who takes the hit.

And please, specify whether you mean CET or CEST. Or better yet, use "Europe/Paris" and let the computers figure it out.

The key takeaways for scheduling across CET:

• US East Coast: 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM CET offers the best 4-hour overlap
• US West Coast: Limited overlap requires flexibility from one side
• Asia: Early morning CET (8:00 AM - 10:00 AM) catches late afternoon in most Asian markets
• DST transitions: Double-check times in March and October when regions change clocks on different dates

Use our time zone converter to eliminate guesswork and find the perfect meeting times across any combination of time zones. With the right tools and awareness of cultural working norms, you can successfully collaborate with colleagues and partners throughout Europe and beyond. For specific guidance on UK-US scheduling, see our London to New York time difference guide.