René REPASI (S&D, DE), rapporteur, holds a press conference on EU rules to make repairs easier and more convenient. Parliament adopts its negotiating position on new rules promoting the right to repair and more sustainable consumption of consumer goods. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Strasbourg

plenary session

press conference

waste of electrical and electronic equipment (T)

circular economy (T)

REPASI, René

Press conference by René REPASI (S&D, DE), Rapporteur on EU rules to make repairs easier and more convenient

SOUNBITE (English), Ren&eacute; REPASI (S&amp;D, DE), Rapporteur. Thank you so much. Thanks for coming here to this press conference. I do have to admit, it's a primer. It's my first press conference that I'm giving ever. Therefore, bear with me. Nevertheless, I'm very proud about the result that we have achieved. 590 voices votes in favour. This is quite a clear message for the report that Parliament has adopted, and we did go beyond the Commission's proposal at several instances.

SOUNBITE (English), Ren&eacute; REPASI (S&amp;D, DE), Rapporteur. We have adopted our position before the Council did so, and I think this vote is sending out a very clear message to Member States that we do not want to have less of a right to repair, but more of a right to repair and what is ultimately underlying this entire idea, not only of the commission, but also what the parliament wants is if we as citizens, as consumers, we want to have repair, then we get it.

SOUNBITE (English),  René REPASI (S&D, DE), Rapporteur. And that all the barriers and hindrances that we find within the life cycle of a product as consumers, if you want to have repair that those are abolished. And that relates to the first period where repair is at stake. So during the minimum guarantee period, it is very different in Member States that this period of time the seller is the unique reference point for us as consumers who mostly cannot repair and mostly has no repair network.

SOUNBITE (English),  René REPASI (S&D, DE), Rapporteur. We want to incentivise repair in competition with the replacement by introducing additional one year guarantee period, something the Commission hasn't included in its proposal by introducing an obligation for replacement goods, which the Commission has not presented here. If repair takes too long by turning directly towards the manufacturer in case you choose for repair, which the Commission has not provided for.

SOUNBITE (English),  René REPASI (S&D, DE), Rapporteur. Once the minimum guarantee period has elapsed, then consumers now get an actual right to repair, which is of course an obligation on a manufacturer for specific product categories to repair that currently does not exist. The manufacturer cannot refuse repair unless it's legally or factually impossible for certain product categories, most notably white goods, washing machines, dishwashers, fridges, but also hoovers, or as included by parliament, smartphones, tablets and bicycles.

SOUNBITE (English),  René REPASI (S&D, DE), Rapporteur. In order to make also here repair attractive we also introduced, in contrast to the Commission, an additional one year guarantee period on the repaired goods and the possibility for a replace, product replacement product during repair if repair is too long. But most interestingly here, of course, we are looking at products that could still work if they were only repaired. And after two years, normally a consumer doesn't want to ship products away, but they want to turn to an independent repairer in their town or to a specialist independent repairer.

SOUNBITE (English),  René REPASI (S&D, DE), Rapporteur. They, however, face excessive prices for spare parts. Here, we want to create a rule that market authorities can intervene in order to bring their prices to a realistic level down. I have heard about a mirror of a car that costs €800 so that the car could be a total economic loss just because a mirror is damaged. This is not realistic. This is ridiculous. And here market surveillance authorities should get tools in their hands.

SOUNBITE (English),  René REPASI (S&D, DE), Rapporteur. Moreover, there are manufacturers who impede repair by hardware or software means you open a phone, you exchange something as an independent repairer, and the operating system of your phone doesn't work anymore. That should now be banned from the parliament's point of view.

SOUNBITE (English),  René REPASI (S&D, DE), Rapporteur. And finally, there are citizens who have no choice between either repair or a cheap new product. The choice is just repair or no product because they cannot even afford repair. Here, Member States shall be obliged under the Parliament's position to introduce financial incentives for citizens to go for repair, such as repair vouchers or bonuses that we know from Austria, from France or the London in Turin, and in Germany.

SOUNBITE (English),  René REPASI (S&D, DE), Rapporteur. All these measures together will lower all barriers that we currently have to choose for repair so that ultimately citizens that choose for repair can also get repair. And by that, we try to avoid this 35 million of tons of trash which just is there annually because a well-functioning product is not getting repaired. And by that we protect environment but also save consumers money. Thanks for listening to this introductory words. And now I'm open for questions. Thank you.

Q&A. Question about the concept of "repair cafe"

SOUNBITE (English),  René REPASI (S&D, DE), Rapporteur. -

Q&A. Question on the possible polemics during the trialogue.

SOUNBITE (English),  René REPASI (S&D, DE), Rapporteur. I was indeed very surprised about the broad majority that was given by the plenary to this report. Since the right to repair is part of the Green Deal, the Green Deal legislative powers are normally rather tight once reference is made to the nature restoration law as a CO2 decision that we had today or tomorrow just speaking of packaging and pesticides.

SOUNBITE (English),  René REPASI (S&D, DE), Rapporteur. So here we have a Green Deal file that has such a broad support and that is a very clear message sent indeed to the Council, but also to the Commission that the way that we have chosen, that we have found cross-party in the European Parliament has a very broad support by citizens.

SOUNBITE (English),  René REPASI (S&D, DE), Rapporteur. And honestly, we do need this right to repair. What we are currently doing is simply not sustainable. We are living on in a market economy where after two years products have to be replaced and we must lead Europe to a paradigm shift in that regard. And the right to repair is core to this. And that's a very, very, very strong message that the plenary has sent today to Member States Governments.