Disappointing news from Europe: the European Commission is delaying the right to repair for at least six months. The Commission was supposed to come up with plans in November, but the Regulatory Scrutiny Board has assessed these plans negatively. The Regulatory Scrutiny Board is an independent body that advises the European Commission.

‘We can’t have important legislation being postponed all the time’

MEP Anna Cavazzini is angry. She has been committed to the European right to repair for a long time already. “Unbelievable!”, writes Cavazzini on Twitter. “The European Commission announced the right to repair back in March 2020. It was scheduled for this November. It cannot be that major Green Deal legislation keeps getting postponed!” Cavazzini questions whether the Regulatory Scrutiny Board has been influenced by groups lobbying for the interests of product manufacturers.

Repair Café International is also disappointed. “The right to repair is crucial to the success of the circular economy”, founder Martine Postma responds. “People want to be able to make repairs; the continuous growth of our network alone proves that. It is up to the EU to make sure that they are helped rather than hindered in doing so.”

Right to Repair Europe: developments are far too slow

According to Right to Repair Europe, eight out of ten Europeans think it should be easier to repair digital devices. The lobbying organization noted back in September that developments around the right to repair are far too slow.

“On paper, the right to repair is part of the Green Deal, with which Europe wants to be a circular economy by 2050. In practice, almost nothing has happened yet”, Cristina Ganapini of Right to Repair Europe said at Fixfest, the biennial gathering of repairers and activists, this time in Brussels. She pointed out that the EU has been talking about a universal charger for electronic devices for thirteen (!) years. “And it’s still not there!”

According to Right to Repair Europe, far too little is being done to achieve a full right to repair

Learn more

• Read our news article on the European Parliament’s plea for the Right to Repair;
• Watch the European Parliament’s video on this, including an interview with Anna Cavazzini;
• Watch the online session on the right to repair during Fixfest 2022.

Manufacturers of electrical appliances must be obliged to make products that last longer and can be repaired. This was stated in a resolution adopted by a large majority of the European Parliament on 16 March.

According to the MEPs, the right to repair should be extended. Independent repairers and ordinary consumers should also be given free access to repair and maintenance information. In practice, the current right to repair applies mainly to professional, brand-related repairers.

By repairing, consumers can contribute to the circular economy

With the resolution, the parliament increases the pressure on the European Commission. The latter will present plans this year to stimulate repair and reuse. “With this resolution, we make it crystal clear what we expect from the Commission,” says the German Anna Cavazzini, who took the initiative for the resolution. She believes that by repairing their own items, consumers can contribute to the transition to a circular economy. “In terms of the right to repair, the EU simply has to deliver,” the MEP believes.

More information

• Watch the video of the European Parliament on the importance of repair;
• Read the press release of the European Parliament on the resolution of 16 March 2022;
• Read our news item on the preliminary plans of the European Commission, which will become definitive later this year;
• Read our earlier post on the right to repair.