Manufacturers will have to offer repair parts for 7 years for refrigerators and 10 years for washing machines, dishwashers and televisions. These must be delivered within a period of no more than 15 business days, they must be compatible to use with tools available in the market without damaging the appliance. Users will be able to go to an independent workshop to carry out the repair. To improve the market, manufacturers must ensure the availability of information on professional appliance repair and maintenance.
The measure comes after the Climate Action Summit held a few days ago, for climate change. The European Commission says that improving the eco-design of products contributes to implementing the principle of “Energy Efficiency First”, and that for the first time repair ability and recyclability requirements are included in these measures.
According to Monique, CEO of the Consumers Association, the new repair requirements will help improve the life of appliances that are currently “failing too quickly.” And the null right to repair are two crucial factors that cause users to end up discarding a product, something that has an impact on the environment and on the consumer’s pocket.
The European Commission estimates that these measures, together with the energy labels adopted in March, will save up to 167 per year by 2030, which corresponds to a reduction of more than 46 million tons of CO2 . European households will save, on average, 150 euros per year, which is in addition to the 285 euros avoided thanks to existing eco-design and energy label requirements.
Director of program and strategy for NGO ECOS, said that giving the right to repair the products they own is common sense.
In the same sense, Rubén Sánchez, vice president of, states that “direct supply to the consumer is not guaranteed, so it continues to depend on intermediaries.” “The legislation pending publication defines specifically what spare parts will be accessible to consumers for each type of product,” replied a spokesman for the National Association of Manufacturers and Importers of Home Appliances.
Considers that “the regulations already foresee some of these assumptions (” it is pioneering “, they affirm) and that the manufacturers are ahead”, according to a spokesman for the entity. “Within their individual policies, Spanish manufacturers have historically lengthened and its own appliance repair these availability periods in order to improve the repair ability of their products, as an added value offered to their customers.
The regulations will affect all products included in the standard, whether manufactured in Europe or outside the EU. Importers, according to their representative in the, demand in this sense “adequate market control by the authorities to ensure that all actors are on an equal footing and thus avoid potential actors that do not comply with legislative requirements.”
The Brussels movement follows a trend that goes beyond borders. Twenty US states have already passed regulations to protect the right to repair against more or less covert practices in the industry to accelerate the end of their products.