Introduction
On 23 April 2024, the European Parliament passed a directive on repair services aiming at improving the EU market while guaranteeing a high level of consumer protection and promoting a more sustainable consumption. Few news outlet picked on this. I will address the main points of this directive here and present what will be in my opinion the next steps.
Objectives of the Directive
As expected, the directive aims to promote the right to repair for consumers. These initiatives are based on the general principles underlying our European market : to facilitate cross-border services and to increase competition between repairers to reduce cost and finally to create incentives to repair. The underlying idea is to repair more to reduce waste, to cut demand for resources and to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
We know that these objectives can sometimes be contradictory. For example, a study published by ADEME in 2018 shows that after 10 years, it is preferable, from the point of view of greenhouse gas emissions, to replace a fridge with a new, more energy-efficient model. However, this replacement does not conserve resources. Therefore, to go beyond the mantra of the environment, I suggest we read the directive of the right to repair as an extension of the traditional and common principles of the EU: more competition for players, more transparency and more protection for consumers. Moreover, the result of the vote, with 584 in favor out of 601 voters, shows that this directive is consistent with EU principles on the free market economy. The real objective is therefore to encourage a competitive European market for repair services.
Main measures
In my opinion, the 70-page directive can be summarized in 5 points.
1. Promotion of repair: The directive lays down uniform rules for promoting the repair of goods, including through the provision of financial aid.
2. Obstacles to repair: The directive aims to remove obstacles that prevent consumers from opting for repair.
3.Manufacturers’ obligation to repair: Manufacturers are obliged to repair goods at the request of consumers, even outside the legal guarantee period.
4.European repair information form: A standardized form is proposed to provide consumers with essential information on repair services.
5.European online platform for repair: The Commission will set up an online platform to facilitate consumer access to repair services.
The future
This directive is in my opinion the first step toward a more heavily regulated market. It does not yet appear to be very restrictive. Prices must be reasonable, subsidies must be effective, and repair must be promoted. There are still few real and quantified objectives. The directive fixes a list of concerned products concerned. Service quotes will have to harmonized throughout Europe. The repairability of product will be the same throughout Europe. There should be however no illusion about the trajectory of this right. Given Parliament’s support for these measures, the product list will grow to include most consumer products while for the time being the Member States are free to define the constraints, it’s a safe bet that it’s only a matter of time before the EU sets the fines.
The right to repair is here to stay. However, what worries me is the Parliament’s desire to create a platform for finding a repairer that would be managed at European level, but I’ll come back to this issue in a later article.
Emmanuel Benoit, CEO of Agoragroup