After many postponements, the European Commission intends to present on 22 March the proposal for a Regulation on the substantiation of environmental claims by means of the environmental footprint of the product/organisation (green claims) to combat ‘greenwashing’ and legislation on the effective right of consumers to repair products. This is at least what is announced in the institution’s provisional indicative calendar dated Tuesday 17 January.
Regarding the substantiation of environmental claims, the proposal, announced since 2020 (see EUROPE 12547/19), was previously expected on 30 November 2022 as part of the 2nd ‘Circular Economy’ package which contains a framework on bioplastics, including that sustainability claims for bioplastics and plastics deemed biodegradable be verified to leave no room for ‘greenwashing’ (see EUROPE 12441/4).
As regards the right to reparation, this has long been called for by the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12928/15). So far, the Commission has merely proposed, on 30 March last year, to give consumers a right to information on the lifespan and repairability of products (amendment of Directive 2011/83/EU on ‘Consumer Rights’) and to better protect them against both non-credible environmental claims and early product obsolescence (amendment of Directive 2005/29/EC on ‘Unfair Commercial Practices’), a proposal on which the EU Council has yet to adopt a position (see EUROPE 13075/4). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)