The European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission reached a political agreement during the night of 1 to 2 February on the directive that will introduce common rules to promote an effective and attractive right for consumers in the EU to have defective products repaired during and beyond the legal guarantee period, and to encourage a market for independent repairers.
Twelve hours of negotiations led to this provisional agreement at the end of a second marathon ‘trilogue’ on legislation for the EU Circular Economy Action Plan and the European Green Deal (see EUROPE 13147/7).
“By facilitating the repair of defective goods, we not only give a new life to our products, but also create good quality jobs, reduce our waste, limit our dependency on foreign raw materials and protect our environment”, said Alexia Bertrand, Belgian Secretary of State for the Budget and Consumer Protection, on behalf of the Council (see EUROPE 13299/4).
“In the future, it will be easier and cheaper to have products repaired instead of buying new, expensive ones. This marks a significant success for the European Parliament, which has been vehemently in favour of empowering consumers in the fight against climate change”, said René Repasi (S&D, German), the European Parliament’s chief negotiator (see EUROPE 13279/12).
Scope. The directive will cover products for which EU legislation currently imposes reparability requirements, such as washing machines, hoovers and dishwashers - a non-exhaustive list that can be gradually added to when the secondary legislation of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products regulation is adopted.
Freedom of choice during the legal warranty period. During the 2-year legal guarantee, consumers will have the choice between repairing or replacing defective products, as is currently the case under Directive 2019/771 ‘Sale of Goods’.
In the event of repairs, the legal guarantee (the period during which the seller must repair or exchange non-compliant goods) will be extended by one year from the time the product is repaired. Member States will be free to extend the legal guarantee on repaired goods beyond 12 months.
In addition to the legal guarantee, consumers will be able to request easier and less costly repair of product defects that are technically repairable.
A stimulated repair market. Manufacturers will be obliged to provide information on spare parts on their websites and to make these spare parts available to all parties in the repair sector at a reasonable price.
They will be prohibited from using contractual, hardware or software barriers to repair, such as preventing the use of second-hand or 3D printed spare parts by independent repairers.
Member States, for their part, will have to introduce at least one measure to promote repair, such as vouchers and repair funds, information campaigns or a reduction in VAT on repair services, as called for by Parliament.
A European online platform will be set up with national sections to help consumers find local repair workshops, sellers of refurbished products, buyers of faulty items or repair cafés.
Satisfaction. “The new directive will make repair easier, more accessible and more affordable. It will also send an important message to companies that sustainable business models and investments in repairs pay off!”, enthused European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders.
The European Consumers’ Organisation (BEUC) also welcomed the “new rules which will put pressure on producers to make high quality and repairable products” and was pleased that consumers would not be obliged to make repairs during the legal guarantee period (as the Commission had proposed), which would have been “unfair” because “not all goods can be properly repaired if the damage is too severe, think of a smartphone or a washing machine”.
Parliament and the Council still have to confirm this provisional agreement before the directive can be formally adopted. It will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. Member States will have 24 months to transpose it into national law. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)