Right to Repair Vote

The EU Parliament has voted a resounding YES for the right to repair! 

What is the right to repair?

The ‘Right to repair’ means giving people the freedom to fix broken items in whatever way they see fit. It means making repair more available, convenient and affordable, either by self repair or professional repair.

The EU Vote

On Tuesday, policymakers approved the report titled “Common rules promoting the repair of goods” from the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee. 

We are delighted to see improvements from the original proposal in both addressing the affordability of repair and the increased number of product categories that are included in the obligation to repair items which are out of guarantee, although only by 2 categories.  

Key Changes Approved:

• Cheaper and Easier Repair:
  • Solid ban on manufacturers contractual, hardware or software techniques obstructing repair.
  • Obligations on fair pricing and accessibility of spare parts for the entirety of a product’s expected lifespan, although only for ten product categories  
  • Producers will be obliged to offer repair even outside of the warranty period.
  • Legal framework will prioritise repair over replacement, except in cases where companies deem repair more expensive.
• Empowering Self-Repair:
  • This move will help enable self-repair and independent repair by ensuring affordable pricing and availability of parts for the entire product lifespan.
  • In addition to affordable and accessible spare parts, there will be a requirement for producers to provide repair information and tools to all stakeholders.

Limitations:

• Unfortunately, many devices such as electronics will not be covered by these provisions,  however there is a process in place for adding products to the list of categories.  
• Producers will only be required to prioritise repair over replacing a product if the repair is considered cheaper than replacement.