The proposed EU directive of 30 March – which aims to turn consumers into actors in the green transition by giving them new rights – is not yet ready for the EU Council to adopt its position, but the Czech Presidency intends to do its utmost to make further progress, going beyond the progress report that the ‘Competitiveness’ Council took note of on Thursday 1 December.
This legislative proposal amends EU legislation to give consumers a right to information on the lifetime and reparability of products (amendment of Directive 2011/83/EU ‘Consumer Rights’) and to better protect them against non-credible environmental claims (greenwashing) and early product obsolescence (amendment of Directive 2005/29/EC ‘Unfair Commercial Practices’) (see EUROPE 12922/4).
A first compromise text was discussed by all delegations (see EUROPE 13033/4). The Czech Presidency will present a second one on 7 December, although some of the more thorny issues will require more time, stressed Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Sikela.
These sensitive issues include:
- a number of definitions that delegations wish to clarify to ensure consistency with other EU environmental legislation or the content regarding contracts for the supply of digital content and services, such as the commercial guarantee of product sustainability or software updates;
- doubts over the actual effectiveness of the proposal, which will require a full analysis of the division of responsibilities between the manufacturer and the seller, as well as their applicability;
- the requirement to clarify the obligations of manufacturers and to prevent the consumer from being overwhelmed with information;
- the need to determine who – the vendor or the manufacturer – should be responsible for the negative impact of software updates on digital products;
- the need to consider how to achieve greater consistency with Directive (EU) 2019/771 regarding certain aspects of contracts for the sale of goods.
On behalf of the European Commission, Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders emphasised the importance of making progress on this text, which is “very important for the implementation of the European Green Deal”. While recognising the need for further discussions, he expressed his hope that the EU Council would be able to agree on its position (‘general approach’) so that negotiations with the European Parliament could begin quickly under the Swedish Presidency.
See the progress report: https://aeur.eu/f/4el (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)