The Right to Repair initiative complements a number of other Commission proposals for sustainable consumption throughout the lifecycle of products, establishing a framework for a genuine right to repair across the EU.

The European Commission has today adopted a new proposal for common rules to encourage the repair of goods, which will allow consumers to save money and will also reduce waste, which will help achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal. Over the last decades, we have often replaced defective products instead of repairing them, and consumers have not had sufficient incentive to repair them after the warranty expires. It will now make it easier for consumers to repair and make it more cost-effective than buying a new product. In addition, higher demand will boost the recovery of the repair sector and manufacturers and sellers will have an incentive to develop more sustainable business models.

It will ensure that more products are repaired until the warranty expires, as well as simpler and more affordable repair of repairable products (such as vacuum cleaners, and soon tablets and smartphones) after the warranty expires and those that malfunction during normal use.

New measures to promote and facilitate repair and reuse

The proposal introduces a new “right to repair” for consumers until the guarantee expires and beyond.

Until the warranty expires, the seller will have to allow repair, unless it is more expensive than the replacement.

Once the guarantee expires, new tools and rights will be available to consumers to make repair simple and accessible:

• the right of consumers to require manufacturers to repair products that can be repaired under EU law, such as washing machines and TV devices. Thus, consumers will always have someone to take the product to repair, and manufacturers will have the incentive to develop more sustainable business models.
• obligation for manufacturers to inform consumers about the products they are required to repair
• an online repair platform where consumers will connect to repairers and sellers of refurbished goods located in the vicinity; it will enable search by location and quality, help consumers find better offers, and increase the visibility of servicers
• a European repair information form that consumers will be able to request from any repairer, ensuring transparency of repair and price conditions and making it easier for consumers to compare offers
• a European quality standard for repair services to help consumers find better repairers. This ‘simple repair’ standard will be available to all repairers in the EU who wish to commit to a minimum quality standard, based for example on the duration or availability of products.

The next steps

The Commission’s proposal now needs to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council.

The context

A recent Eurobarometer survey showed that 77 % of Europeans believe that they are also responsible for limiting climate change. Many products can be repaired, but they are still thrown away. This results in 35 million tonnes of waste and 261 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year in the EU and 30 million tonnes of resources are discarded. It is estimated that EUR 12 billion is spent annually on new devices, although the old ones could have been repaired, but that this initiative will generate growth and investment in the EU of EUR 4.8 billion.

However, repairing devices and products is often complicated. The Right to Repair initiative complements a number of other Commission proposals for sustainable consumption throughout the lifecycle of products, establishing a framework for a genuine right to repair across the EU.

This proposal will contribute to the European Commission’s goal of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. This can only be achieved if consumption and production become more sustainable.

The proposal to introduce the right to repair was announced in the New Consumer Agenda and the Circular Economy Action Plan. It removes barriers that discourage consumers from repairing: impracticability, lack of transparency or absence of that service. It encourages repair as a more sustainable choice, contributing to the climate and environmental objectives of the European Green Deal.

This initiative complements other instruments aimed at making spending sustainable by enabling repair, which is one of the objectives of the European Green Deal. The Ecodesign for Sustainable ProductsRegulation promotes the reparability of products at the production stage, the proposal for a directive on empowering consumers in the green transition allows consumers to make informed purchasing choices, and this proposal promotes post-sale reparability, putting customers in a better position. These three initiatives cover the entire product lifecycle and complement each other.

In addition, the initiative on substantiating environmental claims, also adopted today, will make it easier for consumers to make decisions in support of the green transition and prevent businesses from making misleading claims about the environmental benefits of their products and services. This initiative also complements the proposal to empower consumers in the green transition, which provides a horizontal framework to combat greenwashing.

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