Before the EU's enlargement to 15 members, the then 12 member countries agreed (under EU rules) that summer time should start on the last Saturday in March. Under EU rules, in 1996 and 1997, all members of the Union put their clocks back on the last Sunday in October. They will decide by Jan 1, 1997, what permanent arrangement to adopt.
In the case of 1994, official summer time came to an end in the UK on the 23 October, in the USA the following weekend, while the continental Europeans did so three weeks prior. Much of the industrialized world is out of step for several weeks a year. This fact is of substantial inconvenience for money-markets to name but one economic activity or sector.