Toelichting bij COM(2023)155 - Gemeenschappelijke regels ter bevordering van de reparatie van goederen - Hoofdinhoud
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| dossier | COM(2023)155 - Gemeenschappelijke regels ter bevordering van de reparatie van goederen. |
|---|---|
| bron | COM(2023)155  |
| datum | 22-03-2023 |
·Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
This explanatory memorandum accompanies the proposal for a Directive promoting the repair of goods purchased by consumers and amending Directive (EU) 2019/771, Directive (EU) 2020/1828 and Regulation (EU) 2017/2394. The proposal delivers on the Commission priority of the green transition, specifically the European Green Deal 1 and its objective of sustainable consumption.
When consumer products become defective, consumers often do not seek to repair them, but discard them prematurely, even though they could be repaired and used for longer. This happens under the legal guarantee of the Sale of Goods Directive (SGD) 2 when consumers choose replacement instead of repair, and outside the legal guarantee, when consumers are dissuaded from repair because of sub-optimal repair choices and conditions. In this context, the use of refurbished goods is also limited, leaving the potential for goods to be reused by different users untapped.
The premature disposal of reparable goods purchased by consumers leads to an increase in waste, and generate greenhouse gas emissions and more demand for valuable resources in the production of new goods. The problem of premature disposal of repairable goods purchased by consumers exists across the EU for a wide range of these goods. More than two-thirds of respondents to the public consultation (65–74%) supported EU-level solutions.
The requests of the Conference on the Future of Europe 3 include a call for a right to repair, in particular in Proposal 5 on sustainable consumption, packaging and production and Proposal 11 on Sustainable Growth and innovation. This proposal on promoting the repair of goods is part of the Commission’s reply to this call 4 .
To promote sustainable consumption, this Directive aims to increase the repair and reuse of viable defective goods purchased by consumers within and beyond the legal guarantee.
• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
The Commission is pursuing the Green Deal objective of sustainable consumption in a comprehensive manner in various initiatives that tackle different aspects of premature disposal on both the supply and demand side.
On the supply side, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) proposal 5 , sets the framework for product reparability at the production phase, in particular, on product design requirements and the availability of spare parts.
On the demand side, the proposal for a Directive on empowering consumers for the green transition (ECGT) 6 provides for better information on the durability and reparability of goods at the point of sale. This enables consumers to take sustainable purchasing decisions.
Under the proposal for a Regulation on harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data (Data Act), users of connected products shall have access to data they generate during their use and have the right to give such data to a third party of their choice. Such data access will be relevant for independent repairers.
If a product becomes defective in the after-sales phase, the SGD provides the consumers with remedies against sellers for defects that existed at the time when the goods were delivered and become apparent within the liability period of a minimum of 2 years. Under the SGD, consumers choose between repair and replacement free of charge. They cannot request the remedy chosen if it is impossible or disproportionately costly compared to the other remedy.
The combined effect of the ESPR and the ECGT will improve product sustainability and promote sustainable purchases. However, they do not tackle the issues that dissuade consumers from repair in the after-sales phase. This initiative fills that gap focusing on the use phase of goods purchased by consumers. It promotes repair as a remedy in the legal guarantee framework of the SGD and provides consumers and businesses with new tools that promote repair beyond the legal guarantee.
The three initiatives are complementary and generate synergies by establishing a comprehensive approach towards the common objective of sustainable consumption. They are designed to have a cumulative effect and together cover the entire lifecycle of a product.
Inhoudsopgave
- 2.LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY
- 3.RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
- Open public consultation
- Call for evidence
- Workshop with Member States
- Data collection in the context of the impact assessment support study
- 4.BUDGET IMPLICATIONS
- 5.OTHER ELEMENTS
- Article 1: Subject matter, purpose and scope
- Article 2: Definitions
- Article 3: Level of harmonisation
- Article 4: European Repair Information Form
- Article 5: Obligation to repair
- Article 6: Information on obligation to repair
- Article 7: Online platform for repair and goods subject to refurbishment
- Article 12: Amendment to the SGD
•Legal basis
The legal basis for the proposal is Article 114 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) which provides for the adoption of measures to ensure the establishment and functioning of the internal market. This proposal contributes to the better functioning of the internal market by setting out a harmonised system of rules to promote repair within and beyond the legal guarantee for the sale of goods purchased by consumers..
The SGD fully harmonises the remedies available to consumers within the legal guarantee framework for the lack of conformity of goods and the conditions under which such remedies can be exercised. It was adopted on the basis of Article 114 TFEU aiming to contribute to the functioning of the internal market by tackling contract law-related obstacles for the cross-border sales of goods purchased by consumers in the EU. This Directive amends in a targeted manner the choice between the remedies of repair and replacement in order to promote repair and thereby more sustainable consumption, using the same legal basis of Article 114 TFEU.
Beyond the SGD, individual Member States have already introduced or are considering to introduce rules promoting the repair and reuse of goods purchased by consumers. Diverging mandatory national rules promoting sustainable consumption in the contractual context create actual or potential obstacles for the smooth functioning of the internal market, adversely affecting cross-border transactions in the internal market. For instance, economic operators may be faced with additional transaction costs for obtaining the necessary legal advice in order to find out about the requirements of the law of the country in the consumer’s habitual residence, applicable under Regulation (EC) No 593/2008. 7 Repair service providers may be discouraged to offer their services in more than one Member State as they would need to adapt their repair contracts accordingly.
Furthermore, differing national rules and resulting differences in market practices result in low transparency in repair options and conditions. This will dissuade consumers from accessing repair services, in particular across borders as in the absence of harmonised rules the complexity in cross-border transactions is even higher than in a national context. The resulting limited consumer demand hinders the development of repair services, especially across borders. As digital technologies evolve and more goods include digital features that can be accessed remotely, repair services at a distance and across borders are likely to develop even more in the future. The obstacles that discourage consumer demand for repair indirectly also discourage the cross-border movement of goods, such as spare parts and repair equipment that are necessary for repair services.
It is therefore necessary to harmonise certain aspects of repair outside the existing liability of the seller, in order to ensure the functioning of the single market concerning the relation between a consumer and a repairer, increase legal certainty and reduce transaction costs in particular for small and medium sized enterprises, mostly represented in the repair sector.
According to Article 114(3) TFEU, the Commission takes as a basis a high level of environmental and consumer protection. The SGD aims to improve the functioning of the internal market while achieving a high level of consumer protection. This Directive adds the additional objective of promoting sustainable consumption, a circular economy and the green transition, thus also ensuring a high level of environmental protection
•Subsidiarity
The problems tackled by this Directive are of a cross-border nature and on a European and global scale.
The SGD has already fully harmonised certain rules on the sale of goods purchased by consumers. As this proposal changes one aspect of these rules in order to promote repair within the legal guarantee, the change needs to be done at EU level.
In the absence of EU-level action, national initiatives outside the scope of the SGD would follow in all likelihood and take different approaches in order to promote repair beyond the legal guarantee in line with the goal of more sustainable consumption. While they could bring certain benefits to consumers and the environment at national level, they would at the same time create or increase fragmentation of the internal market.
EU action is therefore necessary in order to achieve the overall objective of a functioning internal market with more sustainable consumption of goods purchased by consumers. It is only through EU action that the desired effect of promoting repair and reuse in the context of cross-border sales can be achieved consistently across the internal market.
•Proportionality
This Directive puts forward a balanced approach that respects the principle of proportionality. For promoting repair in the context of the legal guarantee, national laws are amended only to the minimum extent necessary to achieve the objective. This proposal does not interfere with well-established national arrangements on liability periods. The amendment only concerns rules that are already subject to full harmonisation.
Outside the legal guarantee, harmonisation at EU level is limited only to those options, namely the standardised European Repair Information Form and obligation to repair, which have an internal market dimension. Where a solution at national level is equally effective, in particular the repair platform, this is the preferred choice. The design of the European standard for repair services is shaped as a voluntary commitment to avoid far-reaching interference with national laws on the provision of services.
The provisions of this Directive, while aiming at more sustainable consumption, are tailored to the needs they must address and are of a targeted nature, carefully designed in terms of scope and intensity.
•Choice of the instrument
The preferred instrument is a standalone directive. It includes on the one hand a targeted amendment to the SGD with respect to remedies under the legal guarantee, and on the other hand, new contractual rules on promoting repair beyond the liability of the seller under the SGD. A directive is the most suitable instrument here, as it ensures the desired harmonisation effect and legal certainty, while also allowing Member States to incorporate the harmonised measures into their national laws without friction.
In addition, as a non-regulatory measure, the Commission intends to encourage the development of a European standard for repair services.
•Stakeholder consultations
In line with the Better Regulation guidelines, an extensive consultation strategy was implemented to ensure a wide participation of stakeholders throughout the policy cycle of this proposal. The consultation strategy included relevant stakeholders, including consumers, consumer organisations at both national and EU level, businesses and business associations, environmental organisations, academic experts and national authorities. Several consultation activities took place:
·call for evidence for a period of 12 weeks from 11 January 2022 to 5 April 2022, which resulted in 325 contributions
·online open public consultation for a period of 12 weeks from 11 January 2022 to 5 April 2022, which resulted in 331 contributions
·consumer and business surveys, behavioral experiments and targeted interviews in the context of the impact assessment support study
·targeted bilateral meetings with stakeholders
·workshop with Member States on 7 April 2022
In the open public consultation, the majority of respondents agreed with the existence of the problem of the decrease in the time during which most goods purchased by consumers are used. Among all stakeholder categories, major causes for the decreased lifespan of goods purchased by consumers included the difficulty for consumers to repair products themselves as well as the inconvenience, high costs or non-availability of repair services for consumers.
The vast majority of all respondents agreed that providing incentives to repair products instead of buying new ones in case of defects, both within and beyond the legal guarantee, is an objective to be pursued in order to promote sustainable consumption. The vast majority of all stakeholders also agreed that providing incentives to buy and use refurbished goods is an important objective for promoting sustainable consumption. A clear majority of all respondents considered the EU the appropriate level for action.
An option to prioritise repair whenever it is cheaper than replacement was found effective by a slight majority of all stakeholders, including the majority of EU-citizens, business stakeholders and public authorities that responded. The majority of consumer and environmental organisations found the measure ineffective.
Half of all stakeholders that responded saw voluntary commitments promoting repair as effective measures. Business stakeholders in particular found this measure effective, while the majority of responding environmental organisations and half of consumer organisations found the measure ineffective.
On the producer’s obligation to repair against a price, a slight majority of respondents considered that this should apply where defects result from wear and tear, and half considered that it should apply where defects occur after the legal guarantee has expired. Business stakeholders had a different view: only a minority considered that defects resulting from wear and tear should be covered.
The call for evidence outlined policy options on promoting repair in the remedies system of the SGD, on the obligation to repair and voluntary commitments promoting repair.
Stakeholders from different categories (business organisations/associations, companies, non-governmental organisations) supported the option that prioritises repair where it is cheaper or at the same cost as replacement in the context of the legal guarantee. On the obligation to repair, business stakeholders underlined that such an obligation should be against a price. The majority of stakeholders supported the option of voluntary commitments promoting repair.
Many Member States did not yet have a position on the outlined measures. The measures that prioritise repair within the remedies system of the SGD generally found more support than measures that provide other kinds of incentives to consumers to choose repair (such as an extension of the liability period after repair). Some Member States supported repair as the primary remedy when its cost is less than or equal to the replacement cost.
The majority of Member States did not support imposing obligations to repair on economic operators. Some of them argued that an obligation would be an excessive burden and would likely increase the price of goods purchased by the consumers. Those Member States that supported the obligation to repair pointed out that repair costs should not increase due to the obligation and that the producer should bear the responsibility of repair, not the seller.
On the obligation to issue a quote for repair outside the scope of the SGD, the majority of Member States did not have a position. Some supported such a measure while some showed reluctance.
Data collection in the context of the impact assessment support study comprised a mystery shopping exercise, a consumer survey with two integrated consumer experiments, a business survey and stakeholder interviews. These provide data for defining the problem and assessing the impact of the policy options.
The mystery shopping exercise, targeted at retailers, resulted in 600 observations about consumer experiences when seeking repair within and outside the legal guarantee and about reasons for not getting products repaired by sellers.
The consumer survey and the integrated experiments on situations within the SGD resulted in 1,000 responses per Member State (10 Member States included) and provided input on consumer experiences when seeking for repair or purchase of second-hand goods. The second consumer experiment covering situations outside the legal guarantee period resulted in 800 observations per Member State (10 Member States included) and provided data on the barriers to repair, information of repair and consumer likelihood to repair under different circumstances.
The business survey conducted among producers, sellers and repairers resulted in 80 full responses and 284 partial responses. It provided data for the analysis of the repair market and market practices regarding the repair and replacement of defective goods. Lastly, 21 stakeholder interviews provided insights into the problem definition and market practices.
•Impact assessment
This proposal is based on an impact assessment. The Commission’s Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB) first issued a negative opinion on 30 September 2022. After the initial draft, underwent a significant revision, the RSB provided a positive opinion with further comments on 24 January 2023. Annex 1 of the impact assessment explains how the RSB comments were addressed.
Several of policy options were examined on tackling the premature disposal of goods purchased by consumers both within and outside the legal guarantee.
The assessed options to promote the repair and reuse of goods within the legal guarantee include: prioritising repair within the remedies system of the SGD whenever it is cheaper than replacement; making repair the primary remedy; extending the liability period in the context of repair; aligning the liability period of refurbished goods with new goods; and replacing defective goods with refurbished goods.
The assessed options to facilitate and encourage the repair and reuse of goods beyond the legal guarantee include: providing information on repair by producers and by a matchmaking platform on repair and refurbished goods at national or EU level; improving transparency and conditions for repair by way of voluntary commitments; obliging repairers to issue a repair quote on price and conditions for repair; and obliging producers to repair goods subject to reparability requirements under Union law or all products against a price.
The preferred options package includes options from both clusters, with a focus on addressing repair beyond the legal guarantee. The largest share of defects appears in this scenario and so the potential to increase repair is the highest. On the basis of a multi-criteria and cost-benefit analysis as well as a qualitative assessment of the proportionality of the various options considered, a combination of six preferred policy options was proposed to address the problems:
–prioritising repair whenever it is cheaper than replacement within the legal guarantee framework.
–an online platform at national level, matchmaking consumers with repairers and promoting refurbished goods.
–an obligation on repairers to issue upon request a quote on price and conditions for repair in a standardised form (European Repair Information Form).
–an obligation on producers of goods to which reparability requirements under Union law apply to repair outside the legal guarantee against a price.
–an obligation on producers to inform on their applicable obligation to repair.
–a voluntary EU easy repair standard (European Standard for repair services).
The preferred options package increases the repair of goods purchased by consumers both within and outside the legal guarantee by tackling several of the identified drivers of premature disposal of these goods.
Prioritising repair over replacement within the remedies system of the SGD will drive consumer behaviour towards sustainable consumption and increase repairs within the legal guarantee of viable goods purchased by consumers..
Beyond the legal guarantee, various measures will make repair easier and more attractive for consumers, increasing repairs and the lifetime of consumer goods. The national online repair platform and the obligation of producers to inform on their applicable obligation of repair services will improve the transparency of available repair services. The binding quote on repair price and conditions (European Repair Information Form) will tackle consumer price concerns and inconvenience factors in the repair process through transparency and predictability and make it easier to compare offers. The obligation to repair will promote sustainable consumption by giving consumers a right to claim repair against the producer for specific product groups that are reparable by design. The European Standard for repair services is a useful non-regulatory add-on to the binding measures that will build consumer trust in repair services. The refurbishment function of the national platform increases the use of refurbished goods bringing benefits both to the demand and supply side.
The preferred options package contributes to increased employment, investment, and competition in the EU repair sector in the internal market, while bringing benefits to EU consumers (EUR 176.5 billion consumer savings over 15 years, translating into 25 EUR per consumer annually) and the environment (saving 18.4 million tonnes of CO2 8 over 15 years). Independent repairers, including small and medium-sized enterprises are well placed to benefit from this package. Businesses will face losses due to forgone sales and reduced production of new goods, but substantial consumer savings exceed the cost on businesses. The losses of businesses therefore reflect a transfer from business revenues to consumer welfare. Consumers are also likely to invest the money saved in the overall economy, which in turn will lead to growth and investment.
·Fundamental rights
The package has a positive impact on fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Charter). It promotes the right to a high level of environmental protection and improvement in the quality of the environment, as set out in Article 37 of the Charter. In particular, it helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, waste and use of new resources by increasing repairs both within and beyond the legal guarantee and thereby extending the lifetime of goods purchased by consumers. This proposal contributes to a high level of consumer protection (Article 38 of the Charter) by strengthening consumer rights beyond the legal guarantee. This will be ensured by
(a) providing consumers with tools that improve transparency and conditions for repair.
(b) obliging producers to repair beyond the legal guarantee certain goods purchased by consumers.
These measures will encourage and facilitate the choice of repair when goods become defective and prevent consumers from unnecessarily buying new replacement goods, reducing consumer expenditure.
While this proposal regulates certain business practices concerning repair in view of the sustainable consumption objective, it safeguards contractual freedom and is conducive to the freedom to conduct business (Article 16 of the Charter). The provisions under this proposal aim at boosting the repair market without creating a burden, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises.
This proposal also contributes to the integration of persons with disabilities (Article 26 of the Charter), as Member States are required to ensure accessibility to the online platform for repair also for persons with disabilities, thereby facilitating their access to repair services. In addition, the proposal seeks to ensure the right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial (Article 47 of the Charter), in particular by specific provisions on enforcement to ensure compliance with this Directive.
This proposal will not have implications for the EU budget.
·Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
The Commission will evaluate the impacts of this initiative 5 years after its entry into application. This allows for the necessary period for application and evidence collection in Member States. The progress will be monitored based on a set of indicators covering the package as a whole and its individual elements. Data on the transposition and application of the initiative will also feed into the evaluation. For that purpose, the Commission will also remain in contact with Member States and stakeholders.
The Commission will draw up a report in respect on the delegation of power to adopt delegated acts not later than 9 months before the end of the six-year period of empowerment.
·Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal
Article 1(1) indicates the subject matter of this Directive, which is to improve the functioning of the internal market by laying down common rules promoting the repair of goods purchased by consumers. In line with Article 114(3) TFEU, the Commission takes as its basis a high level of environmental and consumer protection. While pursuing the same purpose as the SGD, namely to improve the functioning of the internal market and achieve a high level of consumer protection, this Directive also adds environmental protection as an ancillary objective. In particular, by promoting sustainable consumption through repair and reuse this Directive contributes to a circular economy and the green transition.
Article 1 (2) defines the scope of this Directive which shall apply to the repair of goods purchased by consumers in the event of a defect of the goods that occurs or becomes apparent outside the liability of the seller pursuant to Article 10 of Directive (EU) 2019/771. This may be the case where the defect did not exist yet at the time that the goods were delivered to the consumer or where the lack of conformity becomes apparent only after the liability period. For these defects, this Directive introduces several provisions, namely the obligation to provide the European Repair Information Form (Article 4), the obligation to repair (Article 5) with the corresponding information requirement (Article 6) and, the platform for repair and refurbishment (Article 7). This Directive also introduces changes to the remedies systems concerning defects that fall within the liability of the sellers pursuant to Article 10 of SGD. In particular, Article 12 of this Directive amends in a targeted manner the choice between repair and replacement under the SGD. In line with the SGD, Article 12 applies to sales contracts concluded between consumers and sellers.
Article (2) introduces the definition of ‘repairer’, which is any natural or legal person who offers a repair service for commercial purposes, including independent repair service providers, producers and sellers that offer repair services.
Article 2(7) contains a definition of ‘reparability requirements’, which relates to the producer’s obligation to repair goods that are covered by such reparability requirements provided for by Union legal acts (Article 5). ‘Reparability requirements’ should mean any requirements under Union legal acts listed in Annex II that enable a product to be repaired. These are for instance requirements for the disassembly and the availability of spare parts applicable to products or specific components of products, as well as repair-related information and tools.
In addition, Article 2 refers to several definitions already established in the SGD and in the ESPR.
In line with the SGD, this Directive follows a full harmonisation approach, whereby Member States cannot maintain or introduce in their national law provisions that diverge from those laid down in this Directive.
Article 4(1) introduces an obligation for repairers to provide standardised key information on their repair services via the European Repair Information Form set out in Annex I. Such standardised presentation will allow consumers to assess and easily compare repair services. Consumers will be free to decide whether they need the European Repair Information Form in a given case, for instance where they would like to gain an overview of the key conditions of the repair service or in order to compare different repair services. In such cases when it is needed and brings added value consumers can obtain the form from repairers upon request.
Article 4(2) sets out that repairers who are not obliged to repair by virtue of Article 5 shall not be obliged to provide the European Repair Information Form where they do not intend to provide the repair service, thereby avoiding unnecessary burden on the repairers.
If repairers incur costs that are necessary for providing the European Repair Information Form, for instance, for inspecting the defective goods, they may request the consumer to pay these limited costs (Article 4(3)).
Article 4 i sets out the key parameters that influence consumer decisions when considering repair. These are in particular: the price for repair or, if the price cannot be calculated in advance, the calculation method and the maximum price, repair conditions such as the time needed to complete repair, the availability of temporary replacement goods during the time of repair, the place where the consumer hands over the goods for repair and the availability of ancillary services such as removal, installation and transportation, where relevant.
Article 4(5) prohibits repairers to alter the European Repair Information Form for 30 days, once provided. This ensures that consumers have sufficient time to compare different repair offers and are protected from changing conditions. In order to safeguard contractual freedom of repairers, repairers who are not obliged to repair by virtue of Article 5, remain free to decide whether to conclude a contract, even if they had provided a form upon the consumer’s request. If a contract for a provision of repair is concluded, repairers are bound to the information given in the European Repair Information Form, which also constitutes an integral part of the contract for the provision of the repair services.
The European Repair Information Form will also make it easier to provide information on repair services including for micro, small and medium sized repairers, as Article 4(6) provides that repairers should be deemed to have fulfilled corresponding information requirements related to a repair service laid down in Directives 2011/83/EU, 2006/123/EC and 2000/31/EC.
Article 5 introduces an obligation for producers to repair defects outside the liability of the seller upon the request of consumers and against a price.
In terms of scope, Article 5(1) limits the obligation to repair to goods for which and to the extent reparability requirements are established in Union legal acts listed in Annex II of this Directive. Those goods include product groups covered by reparability requirements under the ecodesign framework, such as household washing machines, household dishwashers, refrigerating appliances and vacuum cleaners. The reparability requirements under Union legal acts listed in Annex II ensure that the respective products are technically reparable. The obligation to repair corresponds to the scope of the reparability requirements, 9 among others to the components covered and the period during which the respective reparability requirements apply. Therefore, linking the obligation to repair to existing reparability requirements in Union legal acts in Annex II ensures that this obligation can be performed in practice and that there is legal certainty for economic operators. The obligation to repair under this Directive, which allows consumers to directly claim repair against the producer in the after-sales phase, complements supply-side requirements on reparability, encouraging consumer demand for repair.
According to Article 5(1), the producer may perform the obligation to repair for free of against a price. Where the producer repairs against a price, such repair services could become an additional source of revenue and the producer would have an interest to reach an agreement on the price with the consumer in order to conclude a contract. The competitive pressure from other repair actors are likely to keep the price acceptable for the consumer. The producer may also have an interest to perform the obligation for free as part of a commercial guarantee on durability of its products.
The producer should be exempted from the obligation to repair only where repair is impossible, for instance, where goods are damaged in a manner, which makes repair technically unfeasible (Article 5(1) sentence 2).
Article 5(2) regulates the situation where consumers purchase a good from a third country producer established outside the Union. It provides legal certainty for third country producers by specifying how they may comply with the obligation to repair when marketing goods purchased by consumers in the Union. It also provides legal certainty to consumers by specifying which economic operators they may approach in the Union with respect to the obligation to repair of third country producers
To keep Annex II up to date, Article 5 i introduces an empowerment for the Commission to adopt delegated acts to amend Annex II, for instance by adding new product groups when new reparability requirements are adopted in Union legal acts. The Commission empowerment for delegated acts will ensure that all relevant future reparability requirements can be integrated into Annex II.
If producers are obliged to repair goods pursuant to Article 5, they need to inform consumers of that obligation and provide information on the repair services (Article 6). The information obligation aims to ensure that consumers are aware of the obligation to repair, which will increase the likelihood of repair. Article 6 allows for flexibility in how the information is made accessible as long as the producer makes it available in a clear and comprehensible manner.
Article 7 introduces an obligation for Member States to provide for at least one national platform to matchmake consumers with repairers. This will help consumers assess and compare the merits of different repair services and thereby incentivise them to choose repair instead of buying new goods. Where a relevant national platform already exists that meets the conditions set out in this Directive, Member States should not be required to create new platforms.
Article 7(1) sets a number of requirements that the national platform needs to comply with. First, the platform should include search functions for goods, location of repair services and repair conditions, for instance, the time needed to complete the repair, the availability of temporary replacement goods, ancillary services and quality standards for repairers (Article 7(1)(a)). The platform should also enable consumers to directly request the European Repair Information Form via the platform (Article 7(1)(b)) in order to make it easier for them to obtain it. To ensure that the information on the platform is accurate, the platform should allow the repairers to make regular updates (Article 7(1)(c)). In addition, in order to build consumer trust, it should allow for special labels to be displayed in accordance with national and Union law whereby repairers indicate their adherence to European or national quality standards related to repair (Article 7(1)(d)). To create awareness, the platform should also enable accessibility through national websites connected to the Single Digital Gateway (Article 7(1)(e)).
To promote the refurbishment of goods, Article 7(2) requires Member States to ensure that the online platform also includes a search function to find sellers of goods subject to refurbishment and purchasers of defective goods for refurbishment.
Article 7(3) clarifies that registration on the platform is voluntary for repair and refurbishment actors. In addition, Member States should be free to decide who can access the repair platform and how it should be accessed, as long as all repairers in the EU are treated equally. Consumers should be able to access the platform for free.
Article 12 adapts in a targeted manner the harmonised conditions under which the choice between the remedies of repair and replacement can be exercised according to Article 13(2) SGD. This article stipulates that the consumer may choose between repair and replacement, unless the remedy chosen would be impossible or, compared to the other remedy, would impose costs on the seller that would be disproportionate. While maintaining this principle, Article 12 adds an additional sentence to Article 13(2) SGD to promote repair over replacement, stating that the seller should always repair the goods where the costs for replacement are equal to or greater than the costs for repair. As a result, the consumer may only choose replacement as a remedy when it is cheaper than repair.