Many EU citizens are willing to repair a good instead of buying a new one. Although the high cost of repairing an electrical devise, especially after the legal guarantee has expired, creates obstacles and leads consumers towards replacement.
The European Parliament and the Council of 13 June 2024 took into consideration these facts and with the Directive (EU) 2024/1799 they adopted several new measures aiming to strengthen the right to repair and additionally contribute to the reduction of the environmental impact because of the mass production. In a few words, the Parliament adopted clear positions in order to strength and encourage consumers to repair, support the independent repairers and establish financial incentives.
More analytically, the consumers will have the right to request repair for products such as smartphones, washing machines etc. even if the guarantee has expired. Regards the guarantee, amendment (EU 2019/771) provides one extra year if consumers choose to repair the product instead of replacing it. Furthermore, in order to make repairs more desirable, the producers will have to offer replacement devices on loan during the period of the repair. Additionally, in cases where the product can’t be fixed a refurbished should be provided instead.
Furthermore, since there is a high cost and difficulty of accessing repair services which very often discourages consumers from repairing their products, the Parliament issued those independent repairers, refurbishes and end-users would have access to all spare parts, all the available repair information and tools at a reasonable cost. Additionally, online platforms will assist consumers on finding local repairers and sellers of refurbished products. It should be mentioned that in year 2027 an online platform established by the EU, the “European Repair Platform” will be released in order to contribute the finding repairer’s process. Finally, another proposed measure to discourage replacement and make repairs more affordable is the offer of vouchers and national repair funds.
#eWAsTER for #Better regulation
