TV, washing machine & Co.: EU Commission wants to extend "right to repair".

The European Commission has adopted a proposal to strengthen consumers' right to repair devices.

Munich – In order to meet the goals of the European Green Deal, Germany must become more sustainable.

This includes, among other things, saving avoidable waste.

In order to get closer to this goal, the European Commission has adopted a proposal.

This stipulates that the repair of goods will be given priority over the replacement of goods, as the EU Commission announced in a press release.

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The EU Commission has accepted a proposal that provides for goods to be repaired more frequently.

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© Alfred Hofer/Imago

It states that in the past few decades, replacing the goods was often preferred to repairing defective products.

In addition, there is said to have been no incentive for consumers to have a product repaired after the statutory period had expired.

The result is around 35 million tons of waste and over 250 million tons of emissions every year.

reports that new rules for repairing goods should save almost 20 million tons of emissions and three million tons of waste over 15 years

.

This is how the right to repair should look like according to the proposal

The project aims to strengthen consumers and protect the environment.

The proposal makes it easier and cheaper to repair goods instead of replacing them, according to the EU Commission.

For example, buyers should be able to request repairs from manufacturers for five to ten years - even after the statutory guarantee has expired.

This applies to products that are technically repairable under EU law.

According to the EU Commission, this includes washing machines and dishwashers, televisions, tablets, smartphones and dryers.

Consumers should benefit from the proposal, since in the future it should be easier and cheaper to repair goods instead of throwing them away and replacing them with new goods.

This should also help boost the repair sector with stronger demand.

The right to repairs would also send a clear signal to manufacturers to develop sustainable business models.

The proposal aims to ensure that products that are under warranty are repaired.

This should apply to “movable physical objects”.

In addition, consumers should also have the option of repairs if the guarantee has already expired.

The proposal includes the following points:

• Selling must offer repair during legal warranty

  unless repair is more expensive than replacement.

• After the warranty has expired, consumers have more rights

  to have their products repaired.

• Manufacturers should also inform consumers about

  how they can repair their devices themselves.

• Contact

  between manufacturers and consumers

  on the subject of repairs is to be simplified via a separate platform on the Internet.

• The repair company, such as price and repair conditions should be

  transparent for consumers

  .

• A uniform European quality standard

  for repair services is to

  be developed.

  The standard for a simple repair should be accessible to every repair shop in the EU that commits to a specified minimum standard.

The right to repair is not the only way to reduce waste

After the proposal has been approved by the European Commission, it still has to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council.

Only then could it be implemented.

An exact period of time by which the proposal will be implemented has not been announced.

The right to repair is not the only measure intended to help reduce waste.

As early as 2021, the reusable obligation to take food away was decided.

It has been valid throughout Germany since January 1, 2023.

List of rubrics: © Alfred Hofer/Imago