Repair products instead of replacing them:EU green light for the new directive

The European Parliament, with 584 votes in favour, 3 against and 14 abstentions, gave the definitive green light to the rule on the right to repair products.Repair which, in fact, will replace the most impactful replacement.There directive, on the one hand, aims to encourage repairs within the two years of legal guarantee with "easier and cheaper" options and, on the other, to protect consumers even beyond the constraint period "for any defect that may occur".In particular, repair will be promoted during and beyond the two-year legal guarantee period.Sellers will be required to offer free repair within the legal warranty period (except when this is more expensive than replacement), while consumers should be given incentives not to choose replacement within the liability period.For household appliances, electronic displays, welding equipment, vacuum cleaners, servers and data storage, manufacturers will be obliged to take action for up to 10 years after purchase, while mobile phones, cordless phones and tablets will be included in the list once the respective reparability requirements for ecodesign.

Overall, however, the duration of the 2-year legal guarantee will not be altered to avoid consumers being pushed to replace "even more", EU lawmakers explained.More in detail, in the 'protected' period of two years after purchase, the right to repair will take shape with the obligation for sellers to offer the possibility of intervening on a defective or worn product, unless, as anticipated, the repair is more expensive than the replacement.Subsequently, once the legal guarantee has expired, a series of tools will be applied to temporarily extend the right to repair.For products that are "technically repairable" according to Union requirements, intervention may be requested both in case of defect and in case of wear.Furthermore, a European quality standard for durability and availability for repair services will be developed, as well as an obligation for manufacturers to inform consumers about the products they are required to repair themselves and an online matching platform to connect all levels of the value chain of refurbished products, with the possibility of carrying out searches by location and quality standards.Lastly, the directive provides for a European information form for repairs, in order to make conditions and prices transparent and to facilitate the comparison of offers.In general, the rule states that repairs must be carried out within a "reasonable" time frame and that manufacturers must be able to offer replacement devices on loan to consumers.In order to stimulate competition, reduce repair costs and offer consumers more choice, both repairers and end users will have access to all spare parts, information and tools at a controlled cost “throughout the lifespan of a product".

The directive is the result of the EU Green Pact (Green Deal) and aims to reduce the ecological footprint of the Old Continent in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption.Discarding fewer products, in fact, means generating less waste and searching for fewer materials to produce new goods, which translates into a lower environmental impact and a cut in climate-changing emissions from the entire process from production to sale.In numbers, the new EU directive on the right to repair, over a period of 15 years, would make it possible to save 18.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, to extract from the Earth 1.8 million tonnes less resources and to reduce waste production by 3 million tonnes.Significant economic savings are also expected.Also over the next 15 years, overall spending is expected to fall by 15.6 billion euros for sellers and producers, while for consumers there would even be savings of 176.5 billion euros.Finally, growth and investment in the repair sector will increase by 4.8 billion euros.Once the directive has also been formally approved by the Council and published in the Official Journal of the European Union, member states will have 24 months to transpose it into national law.

[by Simone Valeri]