In the graph below you see the time zone difference between Eastern Daylight Time and Central European Time. Drag the bubble to adjust the time and to see the corresponding time in the other time zone.
Eastern Daylight Time is the time zone of the Canadian and US East Coast when observing daylight saving time in the summer, including cities like Montreal, Ottawa, New York, Washington D.C. And Miami. Central European Time is the time zone of most central European countries, and the Nordics, with places like Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Madrid, Rome, Zurich and Warsaw.
Usually it is preferable to schedule meetings before lunch for the person in EDT and in the afternoon for the person in CET.
More EDT conversions
EDT to BST, EDT to PDT, EDT to MST, EDT to CDT, EDT to CEST
More CET conversions
CET to MST, CET to PDT, CET to CDT, CET to JST, CET to CEST
This is the summer time of the Eastern US, Canada and parts of the Caribbean. It is in effect between March and October for most locations and is four hours behind UTC. It is important to note that even within certain states, e.g. Florida, Michigan, and Tennessee there are locations that do NOT observe EST/EDT but instead belong to other time zones. The same goes for the Canadian provinces Ontario and Quebec.
Most of the Eastern seaboard of the US observe Eastern Daylight Time, as well as most locations in Eastern Canada although there are a few exceptions. Locations such as New York, Washington, Quebec and Ontario are all on Eastern Standard Time. Also some Caribbean locations such as Jamaica, Haiti and Panama are in this time zone.
With the exception of Panama, Jamaica and a couple of locations in Canada and the US daylight saving time is observed. Unless you are sure that the location you have in mind is truly in EST/EDT it is always better to use the exact location name rather than the time zone abbreviation.
CET is, as the name implies, the time zone for Central Europe. Important to note is that in summer Central European Time becomes CEST, which stands for Central European Summer Time. In practice, “Central” means “Western” as Central European Time includes everything from the Nordics to Spain. Note that Portugal and the UK are not on CET but instead observe GMT and that Eastern Europe (every country from Finland and South) observe Eastern European Time.
All countries in Western Europe, except Portugal and the UK, observe Central European Time. This includes Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Montenegro and Gibraltar to name a few.
The list is long but includes Berlin, Oslo, Madrid, Rome, Tirana, Amsterdam, Paris, Warsaw, Bern, Geneva and Copenhagen.
Daylight Saving Time is applied in Central Europe/Western Europe. CET in that case becomes CEST – Central European Summer Time and is one hour different. CEST is observed between the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October.