Right to Repair in the European Union
The European Commission has put forward a new proposal aimed at promoting the repair of goods by introducing rules that will make it easier for consumer to have broken products repaired rather than replaced. This position paper lists ECC-Net's recommendations of what should be included in the future Directive. The paper also identifies national actions from across the EU that already encourage the repair of consumer goods.
- 1. How will the right to repair help consumers in the EU?
- 2. What does the recently published proposal include?
- 3. What would ECC-Net like to see included in the upcoming Directive?
- 4. What are national initiatives in the EU?
- 5. Overview of repair initiatives in EU countries
- 6. What are good practices to keep across the EU, to implement or to extend to the majority of consumer goods?
- 1. How will the right to repair help consumers in the EU?
- 2. What does the recently published proposal include?
- 3. What would ECC-Net like to see included in the upcoming Directive?
- 4. What are national initiatives in the EU?
- 5. Overview of repair initiatives in EU countries
- 6. What are good practices to keep across the EU, to implement or to extend to the majority of consumer goods?
How will the right to repair help consumers in the EU?
The European Union has set an ambitious goal to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 through initiatives like the European Green Deal. Notably in consumer protection, the ambition is reflected in concrete initiatives, including the right to repair pushed by the European Parliament.
But also, thanks to the EU Ecodesign Directive, new requirements regarding the repair of certain new electrical appliances apply since 1 March 2021.
As a result, the European Commission has put forward a new proposal aimed at promoting the repair of goods by introducing common rules that will make it easier for consumers to have their products repaired. This proposal will help consumers save money while supporting the goals of the European Green Deal, including waste reduction. Historically, replacement has been prioritized over repair, and consumers have not been incentivized to repair their goods after the legal guarantee expires. The new proposal aims to make repair more affordable and accessible to consumers, which will increase demand for repair services and encourage producers to develop more sustainable business models.
What does the recently published proposal include?
This proposal provides for several axes to promote product repair in the European Union.
Within the legal guarantee, sellers would be required to offer repair except when it is more expensive than replacement.
Beyond the legal guarantee:
- A right for consumers to claim repair to producers would be introduced for a category of products that are technically repairable and affected by ecodesign measures (refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, etc.). Telephones, tablets and certain other electronic devices should be added.
- Producers would be obliged to offer to repair these products within a period of 5 to 10 years from the end of the legal guarantee of conformity (depending on the nature of the product concerned). They would be obliged to inform consumers of this right to repair
If the producer is not established in the European Union, consumers will have this recourse to its representative in the European Union, failing which its importer, failing which its distributor.
- Each Member State would be obliged to set up a free online matchmaking repair platform to connect consumers with repairers and sellers of refurbished goods in their area. The platform would enable facilitate the identification of suitable repairers by location and quality standards
A European Repair Information Form would become mandatory for all products covered by the right to repair. The aim would be to provide a framework for repair quotations, bringing transparency to repair conditions and price. This form would be valid for a period of 30 days from this communication by the repairer in order to make it easier for consumers to compare repair offers.
This new set of rules builds on the EU Ecodesign Directive. These measures have the potential to significantly extend the lifespan of products and reduce electronic waste that ends up in landfills.
Shadow rapporteur Ms. Cavazzini, who is the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee Chair and other consumer groups are also pushing to extend the legal guarantee to the durability of the product, a measure not included in the proposal. “Moreover, the legal guarantee has a minimal impact on consumption. The biggest amount of non-conformity defects occur in the first two years,” responded EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders.
What would ECC-Net like to see included in the upcoming Directive?
- Extended guarantees to prevent programmed obsolescence, especially for electronic and white devices.
- Incentives that encourage consumers to opt for repairs such as, quick and easy procedure, financially reasonable, bonuses or temporary replacement devices during the repair period - Making the option of repair more attractive than replacement.
- Provisions that oblige having in the market more long-lasting devices that are easier to repair, with easily replaceable parts.
- Clear and improved information about reparability of devices.
- Multiple options available for consumers when it comes to pick a repairer.
- Clear rules on the indicative timeframe for repairability of a product.
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Article 7 mandates Member States to ensure that a minimum of one online platform exists within their territory to assist consumers in locating repairers.
However, a question arises regarding products purchased from another EU country that are not circulated in the consumer‘s country. It is essential to consider whether the platform listing repairers should be available in English, given the cross-border nature of the European Union. Furthermore, it may be necessary for all national platforms to exist under a single EU platform that navigates consumers to the nearest repairer, regardless of whether it is located in another EU country.
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Considering that the proposed legislation on the right to repair is a crucial aspect of the European Green Deal, there is a legitimate concern that excessive manufacturing and supply of spare parts that remain unused for up to ten years after the product‘s market launch date could lead to significant waste.
Therefore, it is important to consider how such practices will be monitored and controlled to ensure that they align with the objectives of the European Green Deal. Manufacturers should keep a record of the spare parts they produce and supply to monitor whether they are being used and for what purposes. This information could then be used to adjust the production and supply of spare parts to avoid unnecessary waste.
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Regarding electronic devices and software, there may be instances where a product‘s hardware remains fully functional beyond its intended lifespan, but the software becomes obsolete due to restrictions imposed by the manufacturer.
For instance, a 10-year-old MacBook may still be in working order and require only a new battery, but the device‘s software may not be up to date, as Apple does not allow older devices to receive new software updates. In such cases, continuing to repair the device with spare parts may not be a practical solution, as the product cannot keep up with technological advancements.
What are national initiatives in the EU?
While the above discussed promising provisions have been included in the proposal submitted by the EC to the Council and the EU Parliament, ECCs have also identified that there are already numerous national and local actions to encourage repair of consumer goods across the EU. The below ones can play a very important role next to the recent proposed Directive when adopted and could possibly bring the EU closely to achieving the objective of sustainable consumption.
What are good practices to keep across the EU, to implement or to extend to the majority of consumer goods?
- Because reparability and product life span are closely linked: extended legal guarantee periods based on the expected life span of a product (Finland, the Netherlands, Norway)
- Further extension in case a consumer chooses repair over replacement.
- Information on reparability of items and availability of spare parts (including an obligation to inform if no spare parts are available if the country does not oblige manufacturers to provide spare parts for all goods)
- This information should be available for purchases in physical shops and online!
- Obligation to provide spare parts throughout the estimated lifespan of products within 15 days
- Even if a good is no longer manufactured, obligation to ensure spare parts for the estimated lifespan of the product.
- Visibility of repairers: so that consumers can trust in the repair, an official registry of approved repairers across EU easily accessible to consumers of different MS as well.
- Extension of the reduced VAT or reduction of other taxes for repair services or tax benefits
- More standardisation of spare parts
- Promotion by sellers or manufacturers of instructions manuals/videos/workshops/ateliers to consumers on how to do small repairs
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The digital product passport would be an excellent outcome, provided that it includes information on reparability, the social and environmental footprint of the product and the traceability of the supply chain and the guarantees (legal and commercial) the product benefits from.
The QR code should be coupled with a second means of identifying the product in the event that one is not in possession of a terminal enabling the QR code to be scanned (a number to be entered online, for example, enabling the same page to be viewed as if the QR code were used).
