{"id":5743,"date":"2022-03-16T14:21:53","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T13:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/?post_type=article&#038;p=5743"},"modified":"2022-03-16T14:23:36","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T13:23:36","slug":"dritt-ghal-tiswija-il-mpe-ressqu-t-talbiet-taghhom-qabel-il-proposta-tal-kummissjoni","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/article\/dritt-ghal-tiswija-il-mpe-ressqu-t-talbiet-taghhom-qabel-il-proposta-tal-kummissjoni\/","title":{"rendered":"Right to repair: MEPs set out their demands ahead of Commission\u2019s proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" src=\"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/EP-Feature-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5744\" srcset=\"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/EP-Feature-1024x681.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/EP-Feature-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/EP-Feature-768x511.jpg 768w, http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/EP-Feature-480x320.jpg 480w, http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/EP-Feature.jpg 1255w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In a resolution approved with 41 votes in favour, none against and 4 abstentions, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee stresses that an effective right to repair should address aspects of a product\u2019s lifecycle and take into account product design, as well as the key ethical principles of production, standardisation, information labelling on reparability and on the expected lifespan of a product, consumer guarantees and public procurement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ensuring greater access to repair services<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>MEPs say in the text that a proper \u201cright to repair\u201d should give the repair industry, including independent repairers, and consumers access to repair and maintenance information free of charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Concerning digital devices, MEPs argue that \u201csoftware updates have to be made available for a minimum period of time\u201d, and demand consumers are fully informed at the time of purchase on the availability of updates. These should not lead to a diminished performance of, for example, smartphones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Practices which unduly constrain the right to repair or lead to obsolescence could be considered as \u201cunfair commercial practices\u201d and blacklisted in EU law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Incentives for consumers to choose repair over replacement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Measures to motivate consumers to choose repair over replacement are also needed, according to MEPs. These may include the obligation to provide for a replacement good for the duration of a repair for certain products, extending guarantees and granting bonuses for consumers who choose to repair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other proposals include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>requirements to design products to be longer-lasting and safely repaired, and their parts easily removed;<\/li><li>harmonised rules for consumer information at the point of sale, including \u201crepair scores\u201d, estimated lifespan, spare parts, repair services, as well as the availability of software updates;<\/li><li>a possible joint manufacturer-seller liability mechanism;<\/li><li>the introduction of durability and repair requirements in a future Ecodesign Directive.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Next steps<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The draft resolution is due to be voted on by MEPs in April\u2019s plenary session. Parliament has stressed in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/doceo\/document\/TA-9-2020-0318_EN.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">several instances<\/a>&nbsp;the importance of the right to repair for consumers as a key pillar of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/doceo\/document\/TA-9-2021-0040_EN.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Circular Economy<\/a>&nbsp;agenda in the framework of the EU Green Deal. The Commission announced that it would table a proposal amending the Sale of Goods Directive and that is considering to present a separate legislative proposal on the right to repair during the third quarter of 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to a Eurobarometer survey, 79% of EU citizens think that manufacturers should be required to make it easier to repair digital devices or replace their individual parts, and 77% would rather repair their devices than replace them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a resolution approved with 41 votes in favour, none against and 4 abstentions, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee stresses that an effective right to repair should address [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5744,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"spay_email":""},"issuem_issue":[262],"issuem_issue_categories":[8],"issuem_issue_tags":[],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"2.8.8","language":"en","enabled_languages":["mt","en"],"languages":{"mt":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/5743"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5743"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/5743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5746,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/5743\/revisions\/5746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue?post=5743"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_categories?post=5743"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_tags?post=5743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}