Another Wiki page
http://en.wikipedia.o...saving_time_in_Europe states
[i]Before 1996, DST ended on the last Sunday in September in most European countries; however in the United Kingdom and Ireland DST ended on the fourth (which some years is not the last) Sunday in October.
In 1996, daylight saving time was harmonized throughout the European Union by Directive 2000/84/EC, which moved the end of DST to the last Sunday in October.[i]
So most European countries, before 1996, agreed with your logic that the time changes should (more or less) centre around the shortest day (given that Sunday is the most convenient day of the week for the change). I cannot find any reason why this was changed by the EU Directive.