Verbraucherschutzpaket
Opinion factsheet
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- Landwirtschafts-, Meeres- und Verbraucherpolitik
- Verbraucherpolitik
Opinion number:
CDR-2019-2023
Status:
Verabschiedet
Objective
highlights the commitment to ensure that consumers are empowered to make better-informed choices and play an active role in the ecological transition, as put forward by the European Green Deal; to this end, stresses that changes are needed both in consumer and business behaviour;
calls for harmonised rules for providing information to consumers, including, inter alia, repair scores and information on estimated lifespans, spare parts, repair services and on when software updates are available (for goods with digital elements), while keeping in mind the imperatives of consumer safety;
regrets, however, that the proposal does not introduce changes to the legal guarantee framework to extend legal guarantee periods for more durable goods by defining them through the ecodesign implementing measures (i.e. by creating product-specific guarantee periods), or further expand the reversal of the burden of proof to align it with the legal guarantee period and introduce a joint seller-producer liability;
supports regional and local governments in encouraging the development of not-for-profit and voluntary sectors as important service providers for implementing the right to repair; recognises that repair cafés are an important piece of social infrastructure;
recommends that the range of possible repairers must be expanded to include people who are removed from the labour market, such as people with disabilities from special employment centres and people who are serving a prison sentence, ensuring fair working conditions and a fair compensation;
calls for a strong governance framework involving local and regional authorities and civil society in order to establish transparent and inclusive processes for developing rules for substantiating and communicating green claims, such as a consultation forum on green claims;
highlights the fact that measures and guidance need to be put in place to make the process easier for SMEs to be able to substantiate their green claims.
calls for harmonised rules for providing information to consumers, including, inter alia, repair scores and information on estimated lifespans, spare parts, repair services and on when software updates are available (for goods with digital elements), while keeping in mind the imperatives of consumer safety;
regrets, however, that the proposal does not introduce changes to the legal guarantee framework to extend legal guarantee periods for more durable goods by defining them through the ecodesign implementing measures (i.e. by creating product-specific guarantee periods), or further expand the reversal of the burden of proof to align it with the legal guarantee period and introduce a joint seller-producer liability;
supports regional and local governments in encouraging the development of not-for-profit and voluntary sectors as important service providers for implementing the right to repair; recognises that repair cafés are an important piece of social infrastructure;
recommends that the range of possible repairers must be expanded to include people who are removed from the labour market, such as people with disabilities from special employment centres and people who are serving a prison sentence, ensuring fair working conditions and a fair compensation;
calls for a strong governance framework involving local and regional authorities and civil society in order to establish transparent and inclusive processes for developing rules for substantiating and communicating green claims, such as a consultation forum on green claims;
highlights the fact that measures and guidance need to be put in place to make the process easier for SMEs to be able to substantiate their green claims.
Impact
The EP report on Repair and reuse was adopted in the IMCO committee on the 25 October.
The proposal to extend the scope of the legislation to cover as many products as possible, not only those for which repairability requirements exist under current EU ecodesign rules;
The companies can only refuse to fix a product if it is “factually or legally impossible”; so they cannot do that for economic reasons (costs)
Companies would have to make available “all information related to repair,” including manuals and prices of spare parts, and would be prohibited from using “any contractual, hardware or software technique” that makes repairing a product more difficult or prevents the use of 3D-printed or second-hand spare parts.
Proposal to create a one-year guarantee after repair to increase consumer trust in the practice
online platforms shall allow consumers to easily find repairers, including repair led-communities and repair cafés
Plenary vote – 20 November
Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on the proposal promoting the repair of goods on 1 Feb 2024
The report, comprises in a nutshell:
Measures to boost repair after the legal guarantee has expired
Incentives to use products for longer, such as repair vouchers and funds
Online platforms helping consumers find local repair and refurbished goods shops
Directive on Green Claims, co-Rapporteurs: Mr Andrus Ansip (Renew, IMCO), Mr Cyrus Engerer (S&D, ENVI)
In the Plenary vote on 12 March, the EP adopted its position on establishing a verification and pre-approval system for environmental marketing claims to protect citizens from misleading ads.
companies to submit evidence about their environmental marketing claims before advertising products as “biodegradable”, “less polluting”, “water saving” or having “bio based content”.
EU countries would have to assign verifiers to pre-approve the use of such claims, to protect buyers from unfounded and ambiguous advertising.
claims and their evidence to be assessed within 30 days, but simpler claims and products could benefit from quicker or easier verification
Micro enterprises would not be covered by the new rules, and SMEs would have an extra year to be in compliance compared to larger businesses. Going in the same direction, the CoR highlighted that measures and guidance need to be put in place to make the process easier for SMEs to be able to substantiate their green claims.
Companies that break the rules may face penalties, for example they could be temporarily excluded from public procurement tenders, lose their revenues and face fines of at least at 4% of their annual turnover.
Green claims based solely on carbon offsetting schemes will remain banned.
green claims about products containing hazardous substances should remain possible for now
The file will be followed up by the new Parliament after the European elections.
The proposal to extend the scope of the legislation to cover as many products as possible, not only those for which repairability requirements exist under current EU ecodesign rules;
The companies can only refuse to fix a product if it is “factually or legally impossible”; so they cannot do that for economic reasons (costs)
Companies would have to make available “all information related to repair,” including manuals and prices of spare parts, and would be prohibited from using “any contractual, hardware or software technique” that makes repairing a product more difficult or prevents the use of 3D-printed or second-hand spare parts.
Proposal to create a one-year guarantee after repair to increase consumer trust in the practice
online platforms shall allow consumers to easily find repairers, including repair led-communities and repair cafés
Plenary vote – 20 November
Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on the proposal promoting the repair of goods on 1 Feb 2024
The report, comprises in a nutshell:
Measures to boost repair after the legal guarantee has expired
Incentives to use products for longer, such as repair vouchers and funds
Online platforms helping consumers find local repair and refurbished goods shops
Directive on Green Claims, co-Rapporteurs: Mr Andrus Ansip (Renew, IMCO), Mr Cyrus Engerer (S&D, ENVI)
In the Plenary vote on 12 March, the EP adopted its position on establishing a verification and pre-approval system for environmental marketing claims to protect citizens from misleading ads.
companies to submit evidence about their environmental marketing claims before advertising products as “biodegradable”, “less polluting”, “water saving” or having “bio based content”.
EU countries would have to assign verifiers to pre-approve the use of such claims, to protect buyers from unfounded and ambiguous advertising.
claims and their evidence to be assessed within 30 days, but simpler claims and products could benefit from quicker or easier verification
Micro enterprises would not be covered by the new rules, and SMEs would have an extra year to be in compliance compared to larger businesses. Going in the same direction, the CoR highlighted that measures and guidance need to be put in place to make the process easier for SMEs to be able to substantiate their green claims.
Companies that break the rules may face penalties, for example they could be temporarily excluded from public procurement tenders, lose their revenues and face fines of at least at 4% of their annual turnover.
Green claims based solely on carbon offsetting schemes will remain banned.
green claims about products containing hazardous substances should remain possible for now
The file will be followed up by the new Parliament after the European elections.
Essential points
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
- highlights the commitment to ensure that consumers are empowered to make better-informed choices and play an active role in the ecological transition, as put forward by the European Green Deal; to this end, stresses that changes are needed both in consumer and business behaviour;
- calls for harmonised rules for providing information to consumers, including, inter alia, repair scores and information on estimated lifespans, spare parts, repair services and on when software updates are available (for goods with digital elements), while keeping in mind the imperatives of consumer safety;
- regrets, however, that the proposal does not introduce changes to the legal guarantee framework to extend legal guarantee periods for more durable goods by defining them through the ecodesign implementing measures (i.e. by creating product-specific guarantee periods), or further expand the reversal of the burden of proof to align it with the legal guarantee period and introduce a joint seller-producer liability;
- supports regional and local governments in encouraging the development of not-for-profit and voluntary sectors as important service providers for implementing the right to repair; recognises that repair cafés are an important piece of social infrastructure;
- recommends that the range of possible repairers must be expanded to include people who are removed from the labour market, such as people with disabilities from special employment centres and people who are serving a prison sentence, ensuring fair working conditions and a fair compensation;
- calls for a strong governance framework involving local and regional authorities and civil society in order to establish transparent and inclusive processes for developing rules for substantiating and communicating green claims, such as a consultation forum on green claims;
- highlights the fact that measures and guidance need to be put in place to make the process easier for SMEs to be able to substantiate their green claims.