Mobile phone repair – Photo by Kilian Seiler on Unsplash
(STRASBOURG) – The European Parliament gave its formal go-ahead Tuesday to new ‘right to repair’ rules aimed at helping consumers repair their goods easily and make their products last longer.
According to the EU Commission, premature disposal of consumer goods produces 261 million tons of CO2-equivalent emissions, consumes 30 million tonnes of resources, and generates 35 million tonnes of waste in the EU each year. Consumers also lose about EUR 12 billion annually by replacing goods rather than repairing them.
The new rules – expected to bring EUR 4.8 billion in growth and investment within the EU – are “great news for consumers” says the European Consumer Organisation. They “will put pressure on producers to make high-quality and repairable products,” said BEUC Director General Monique Goyens. “This will mark the closure of the chapter on impossible-to-fix products that break too quickly.”
The ‘common rules promoting the repair of goods’ clarify the obligations for manufacturers to repair goods and encourage consumers to extend a product’s lifecycle through repair. These ensure manufacturers provide timely and cost-effective repair services and inform consumers about their rights to repair. Goods repaired under warranty will benefit from an additional one-year extension of the legal guarantee.
After the legal guarantee has expired, the manufacturer is still required to repair common household products, which are technically repairable under EU law, such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and even smartphones. The list of product categories can be extended over time. Consumers may also borrow a device whilst theirs is being repaired or, if it cannot be fixed, opt for a refurbished unit as an alternative.
A European information form can be offered to consumers to help them assess and compare repair services (detailing the nature of the defect, price and duration of the repair). To make the repair process easier, a European online platform with national sections will be set up to help consumers easily find local repair shops, sellers of refurbished goods, buyers of defective items or community-led repair initiatives, such as repair cafes.
Manufacturers need to provide spare parts and tools at a reasonable price and are prohibited from using contractual clauses, hardware or software techniques that obstruct repairs. In particular, they cannot impede the use of second-hand or 3D-printed spare parts by independent repairers, nor can they refuse to repair a product solely for economic reasons or because it was previously repaired by someone else.
To make repairs more affordable, each member state will have to implement at least one measure to promote repair, such as repair vouchers and funds, conducting information campaigns, offering repair courses or supporting for community-led repair spaces.
The directive now needs to be formally approved by Council and published in the EU Official Journal, following which member states will have 24 months to transpose it into national law..
