The European Commission has proposed on Wednesday a legislative initiative to guarantee the right of EU consumers to repair damaged products, avoid waste of resources, save money to citizens and move towards a more circular economic system.

The Eurobarometer has recently pointed out that 77% of Europeans believe they have a responsibility to limit climate change, according to the European Commission. In particular, Brussels estimates that 35 million tonnes of waste are generated each year in the EU, 261 tonnes of CO2 released into the atmosphere and 30 tonnes of defective or no longer working equipment.

This means an annual cost for consumers of EUR 12 billion, according to estimates by the European Commission. Considers that the new rules will encourage investments of EUR 4.8 billion.

The Commission wants users to be able to claim repairs outside the guarantee period and for companies to report on the conditions necessary for their repair. These requirements will be extended between five and ten years depending on the product. “No one will refuse to repair the washing machine if it is not technically impossible,” says European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders. He adds that manufacturers will have to repair the apparatus even if the consumer has damaged it, but in that case they can ask for a sum of money for that work.

The directive includes products such as washing machines, refrigerators, electronic screens, vacuum cleaners, servers and data collection, but at the moment not mobile phones or tablets. Currently under negotiation, the latter will be incorporated into the adoption of the eco-design regulation.

230 tags and 53% without adequate protection

The European Commission has also tabled a law to remove "eco-posture" on a confusing, diffuse or false label of products showing opaque stamps with environmental certifications based on scientific and transparent criteria.

The European Commission identified 230 “eco-labels” in its research in 2020 in the EU. These labels have environmental characteristics of the products, and according to the study, 53.3% of these alleged properties are diffuse, confusing or inconsistent and 40% lack demonstrable basis.

To correct this trend, the aim is to apply greater control and transparency to labels “protecting consumers, but also businesses”. Without introducing new compulsory labelling schemes, Brussels therefore proposes introducing common rules. For example, products will not be allowed to display an "added score" of different environmental criteria, as brightness in the real photo is lost.

Environmental labelling schemes “must be reliable, transparent, independently verified and regularly reviewed”, adds the European Commission, and consumer protection organisations will be able to take legal action against manufacturers who do not comply with these labelling rules.