Consumers’ legitimate concerns about the right to repair the products they buy, from washing machines to smartphones, should be addressed, said MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) on Wednesday 16 March.
Eager to know the European Commission’s ambitions regarding the future right to repair products, on 16 March they formulated their own requirements in respect of an effective right to repair, thereby anticipating the European Commission’s legislative proposal – expected in the third quarter – to extend the useful life of goods (see EUROPE 12867/8).
The draft resolution tabled by the chair of IMCO, Anna Cavazzini (Greens/EFA, Germany), was adopted by an overwhelming majority (41 votes in favour, 0 votes against and 4 abstentions). It details a long-standing request of the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12654/2, 12609/2).
MEPs believe that a right to repair should enable consumers and the repair sector – including independent repairers – to have free access to information about repairs and maintenance.
MEPs are calling for better consumer access to affordable spare parts, a time limit regarding reparability throughout the product life cycle, and the digitisation of consumer information.
They have called for software updates to be made available for a longer period of time. In their opinion, consumers should have access to full information on the availability of updates at the time at which they make a purchase and these updates should not adversely affect the performance of the device.
MEPs have also called for an end to the planned obsolescence of products, taking into account Directive (EU) 2019/771 regarding specific aspects of contracts on the sale of goods.
They believe that practices that limit the right to reparability could be deemed unfair commercial practices and therefore be blacklisted under EU Directive 2005/29/EC.
“Repairing broken or damaged products means saving money, energy and resources, which is more necessary than ever to achieve a resilient single market. By repairing their products, consumers will be able to move away from the concept of a throwaway society, instead playing an active role in the transition to a circular economy”, said Cavazzini.
MEPs also want measures in place to encourage consumers to choose repair over replacement. These could range from a requirement to provide a replacement item during the repair period for specific products, to extended warranties and incentives for those consumers who choose to repair an item.
The draft resolution will be put to a vote at the European Parliament’s April plenary session. “We will demonstrate that the European Parliament wants to play its part”, said Cavazzini.
The European Commission representative pointed out that the Sustainable Products Initiative, expected on 30 March, “envisages extending the life cycle of products so that sustainability becomes the norm”, (see EUROPE 12903/15). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)