Mobile phone recycling – Photo by Eirik Solheim on Unsplash
(BRUSSELS) – The EU Council gave the go-ahead Thursday to a directive making it easier for consumers to seek repair instead of replacement and repair services will become more accessible and attractive.
“The directive adopted today enshrines a new right for consumers: the right to have defective products repaired in an easier, cheaper and faster way,” said Belgian consumers minister, for the EU presidency: “It also gives manufacturers the incentive to make products that last longer and can be repaired, reused and recycled.”
The directive creates a set of tools and incentives to make repair more attractive for consumers. These include requiring manufacturers to repair products which are technically repairable under EU law; the availability of a voluntary repair form with clear information about the repair process (deadlines, prices, etc.); a European online platform where consumers can easily find repair services and the extension of the legal guarantee with 12 months if consumers choose repair instead of replacement.
The list of repairable products can be increased in the future: whenever the Commission introduces new reparability requirements for certain products, these will be added to the R2R directive.
Following Council approval, the legislative act has been adopted. After signature, the directive will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force on the 20th day following its publication. Member states will have 24 months from the entry into force to transpose the directive into national law.
