The European Parliament (EP) adopted new rules today set to strengthen the consumer right to repair and to reduce the environmental impact of mass consumption. This proposal aims to encourage more sustainable consumption, by making it easier to repair defective goods, thereby reducing waste, supporting the repair sector. So far, consumers are often discouraged from having a product repaired due to high costs, the difficulty of accessing repair services or design features preventing repair. At the same time, a 2019 study by the European Commission showed that 77 percent of EU citizens would prefer repair to buying new goods.
The proposal includes these following measures:
- Within the legal guarantee period, sellers would be required to prioritize repairs if they are cheaper or equal in cost to replacing a good, unless the repair is not feasible or inconvenient for the consumer.
- Once a product has been fixed, the legal guarantee should be extended by one year.
- And even after the legal guarantee has expired, consumers should have a right to request repair for products such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners, smartphones, and bicycles.
- Producers should offer replacement devices on loan for the duration of the repair. If a product cannot be fixed, a refurbished one could be offered instead.
- Independent repairers, refurbishers and end-users should have access to all spare parts, repair information, and tools at a reasonable cost.
- Online platforms will help consumers find local repairers, including repair cafés, and sellers of refurbished goods in their area. In this regard, consumers should be offered vouchers and other financial incentives via national repair funds.
Ursula Pachl, BEUC’s Deputy Director General, noted: “Longer lasting and more repairable products can save consumer money and planet resources. Consumer groups from across Europe report that too many ordinary products break too soon and are impossible to fix. We are happy that the Parliament is putting pressure on producers to make durable and repairable products the norm. The Parliament is restricting consumer choice by forcing them to have a defective product repaired instead of replaced. Repair should be encouraged not imposed on consumers, especially if their product breaks within the two-year legal guarantee period. Not all goods can be properly repaired, and consumers should have the right to a well-functioning product they paid for. We hope Member States will not agree to reduce existing consumer rights. Anti-repair practices must be banned, and measures promoting repair must be introduced by Member States. Financial incentives, such as the repair fund in France or the repair bonus in Austria, are needed to promote repair and bring repair prices down.”
Source: EP & BEUC
More information and BEUC press release