As reported byAFP, MEPs voted on Tuesday April 23 for new rules to encourage consumers to repair broken smartphones and household appliances. The goal is to prevent them from being thrown away or the purchase of new equipment.
A text widely adopted by MEPs
With 584 votes for, 3 against and 14 abstentions, this text was largely adopted. THE “right to repair” allows consumers to ask manufacturers that their smartphones and other home appliances can be repaired, even when the warranty is over.
Online platforms will be established to find approved repairers more quickly. In addition to an ecological approach, the objective is to make the repair market more competitive by reducing costs.
All Member States of the European Union will have to do what is necessary to promote repair, such as providing repair vouchers or courses to learn how to repair devices. Access to spare parts, tools and necessary information will be facilitated for the occasion.
René Repasi, rapporteur of the text and German Social Democratic MEP, welcomes this new text: “It will be simpler and cheaper to opt for repair rather than buying new, more expensive products”.
77% of consumers prefer repair
This text is also motivated by the fact that, according to a study by the European Commission, 77% of European consumers prefer a repair rather than purchasing new equipment in the event of a breakdown.
Every year, products that can be repaired but sent to landfill represent 35 million tonnes of waste for the European Union. As for citizens, they lose around 12 billion euros per year by buying a new product instead of having one that no longer works repaired.