Europe promotes repairs in its quest to achieve a circular economy

Directive (UE) 2024/1799 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on common rules promoting the repair of goods and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 and Directives (EU) 2019/771 and (EU) 2020/1828 was published in the Official Journal on July 10.

The directive aims to provide common rules strengthening the provisions related to the repair of goods with a view to contributing to the correct functioning of the internal market while providing for a high level of environmental and consumer protection.

It seeks to achieve this by imposing an obligation on manufacturers to repair for free or by charging a reasonable price, on the consumer’s request, any goods for which the EU has established reparability requirements by legal acts. Currently those goods are household appliances, refrigerating appliances, electronic displays, welding equipment, servers and data storage products, phones, tablets and goods incorporating light means of transport batteries. The repair obligation will apply to defects that are not due to the non-conformity of the goods with a sales contract.

Where the manufacturer having the repair obligation is established outside the EU, it falls to its authorized representative, and if there is no authorized representative, to the importer of the good concerned or, in their absence, to the distributor. All of them can subcontract someone to carry out the repair.

Additionally, it imposes on manufacturers that make spare parts and tools available for these goods the obligation to provide access to them at a reasonable price that does not deter consumers from repairing the goods.

The directive creates a European Repair Information Form, a document which repairers should provide for free to assist consumers with identifying and choosing the most suitable repair services, and assessing and comparing them. The form should include information on the nature of the defect, the price and the time within which the repairer undertakes to complete the repair, the availability of temporary replacement goods and other relevant information so that consumers can make an informed decision on the repair of their good. The conditions provided on the form must be held for at least 30 days.

It also provides for a European online platform for repair, which should make it easy for consumers to find sellers of refurbished goods, purchasers of defective goods for refurbishment or community-led repair initiatives.

The directive also amends Directive (EU) 2019/771, on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods, amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 and Directive 2009/22/EC, and repealing Directive 1999/44/EC, to promote repair within the liability of the seller. Among other measures, it extends the liability period by twelve months where a repair takes place as a remedy to bring goods into conformity. It also introduces a new obligation to inform consumers of the right to choose between repair and replacement, as well as on the option of extending the liability period if that consumer chooses repair.

Member states must have their transposition measures in force by July 31, 2026. Any contractual agreement which, to the detriment of the consumer, excludes the application of those measures will not be binding on the consumer.