Re-Use Austria
At the end of November, the European Parliament paved the way for the right to repair in Europe. The European Parliament calls on the EU Commission to take extensive measures against premature obsolescence and for sustainable, repairable products.
November 25th was an important day for the repair movement in Europe: With the decision on “a more sustainable internal market for companies and consumers”, the EU Parliament is calling for the Commission to take extensive measures for sustainable products and business models. The decision was drafted by the French MEP David Cormand (Greens / EFA). 705 MPs voted, and the proposal was finally adopted with 395 votes in favor - 94 against and 207 abstentions. All of the text can here be found.
Dilution attempt successfully averted
The success was preceded by a heated debate in which conservative and liberal parties sought to water down the original, more ambitious version of the report. In the run-up to the vote, the Right to Repair Coalition, together with its members such as RepaNet, the Vienna Repair Network and the RUSZ Repair and Service Center, urged the members of the European Parliament to maintain the original demands. For this purpose, mailings were sent to the members of the European Parliament. The efforts have borne fruit and the proposal was accepted, albeit very tightly: The vote on obsolescence was only decided with a lead of two votes.
Marking reparability - promoting reuse
What does this vote mean in concrete terms? What is required is mandatory marking of repairability and service life on products. All Practices that effectively shorten the life of a product, should be added to the list of prohibited unfair business practices. In addition, the commission should examine, among other things, whether the legally required warranty period can be extended and how consumers can be better informed about effective and enforceable legal remedies. The “right to repair” should include one Standardization of spare parts favor and consumers free access to repair manuals give. The European Parliament also calls for a “Comprehensive strategy to promote a culture of reuse”. Among other things, the destruction of unsold or unsold goods should be prevented in the future. Independent workshops and repair shops are to be supported, and the transfer of guarantees for used goods is to be made possible. All of this should lead to new and sustainable business models and thus create local jobs.
This extensive package of claims is a historic foray into the repair movement. Rapporteur David Cormand (Greens / EFA, France): “With the adoption of this report, the European Parliament is sending a clear message: harmonized mandatory labeling with information on shelf life and the fight against premature obsolescence at EU level are the way forward "Now the ball rests with the EU Commission:" The European Commission must now use this dynamic and propose a labeling system for the repairability of electronic devices and repairability standards for computers in 2021, "said Chloé Mikolajczak, spokeswoman for the Right to Repair campaign.
Photo by Dana Vollenweider on Unsplash
More info …
To the adopted report on the European Parliament website
Right to Repair News: Fight against premature obsolescence at risk in EU Parliament vote
RepaNews: More resilience through a right to repair
RepaNews: RepaNet is part of the "Right to Repair" coalition
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