The European Parliament and EU Council reached, on Wednesday 20 September, a political agreement on the proposal for an EU Directive aimed at empowering consumers to act in favour of the green transition through adequate information on the durability and reparability of products and better protection against greenwashing and premature obsolescence of products (see EUROPE 13251/14).
This innovation, which promotes well-informed purchasing decisions, would be achieved by amending the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU) and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC), as proposed by the European Commission a year ago (see EUROPE 12922/4).
Under the terms of the provisional agreement, which emerged from interinstitutional negotiations, the blacklist of prohibited unfair commercial practices will include overly general and misleading generic claims such as ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘natural’, ‘biodegradable’, ‘climate neutral’ without proof of recognised excellent environmental performance.
Claims of climate neutrality based on offsetting greenhouse gas emissions would also be prohibited. In other words, retailers will not be able to claim that a product has a neutral, reduced or improved environmental impact on the basis of unverified offset schemes.
Unnecessary software updates or the unjustified obligation to purchase spare parts from the original manufacturer would also be prohibited.
Operators would only be held liable for failure to provide information if there was information on the design features that led to these situations, the compromise states.
Only sustainability labels based on certification systems approved or established by the public authorities will be authorised.
To improve information on the two-year legal guarantee in force in the EU for all products, a reminder will be issued in all shops and on certain packaging.
The text introduces harmonised labelling containing information on the commercial guarantee of durability offered by producers and which will include a reference to the legal guarantee of conformity.
For the voluntary commercial guarantee, the Commission will have to devise a new label for producers wishing to highlight the quality of their products by extending the guarantee period free of charge.
To give Member States time to adapt to these new rules, they will have 24 months to transpose the directive into national law once it has been adopted.
“Citizens are suffering the consequences of climate change and want to be part of the solution. With the compromise reached today consumers will have the necessary information to make the right green choices“, said a delighted Alberto Garzón Espinosa, Spain’s Minister for Consumer Affairs, on behalf of the EU Council Presidency.
Parliament’s chief negotiator, Biljana Borzan (S&D, Croatian), welcomed a major step forward, particularly with regard to the fight against greenwashing.
The agreement still has to be ratified by the EU Council and the European Parliament. The latter is expected to make its decision in November. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)