44 Amendments of Andreas SCHWAB related to 2023/0083(COD)
Amendment 71 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
(2a) For this reason, this Directive seeks the highest possible level of harmonization. Only full harmonization will ensure that consumers in the EU will have the same rights everywhere concerning warranties and their rights to repair. Harmonized rules will ensure effective consumer protection through clearer information and enforcement at a European level, regardless of the place of residence.
Amendment 93 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) Directive (EU) 2019/771 imposes an obligation on sellers to repair goods in the event of a lack of conformity which existed at the time that the goods were delivered and which becomes apparent within the liability period. Under that Directive, consumers are not entitled to have defects repaired which fall outside that obligation. As a consequence, a large number of defective, but otherwise viable, goods are prematurely discarded. In order to encourage consumers to repair their good in such situations, this Directive should impose an obligation on producers to repair goods to which reparability requirements imposed by Union legal acts apply. That repair obligation should be imposed, upon the consumer’s request, on the producers of such goods, since they are the addressees of those reparability requirements. That obligation should apply to producers established both inside and outside the Union in relation to goods placed on the Union market. However, that obligation cannot persist for an unlimited amount of time, since that may limit the economic choice of a producer to no longer produce a specific product. Therefore that obligation should only be enforceable for a time period of 10 years and only if the product in question is still being produced at the time of the repair request. The economic freedom of choice to stop manufacturing a product must be guaranteed. In that case the repair becomes factually impossible.
Amendment 97 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) Since the obligation to repair imposed on producers under this Directive covers defects that are not due to the non- conformity of the goods with a sales contract, producers may provide repair against a price paid by the consumer, against another kind of consideration, or for free. The charging of a price should encourage producers to develop sustainable business models, including the provision of repair services. Such a price may take into account, for instance, labour costs, costs for spare parts, costs for operating the repair facility and a customary margin. The price for and the conditions of repair should be agreed in a contract between the consumer and the producer and the consumer should remain free to decide whether that price and those conditions are acceptable. The need for such a contract and the competitive pressure from other repairers should encourage producers who are obliged to repair to keep the price acceptable for the consumer. The repair obligation may also be performed for free when the defect is covered by a commercial guarantee, for instance, in relation to guaranteed durability of goods. To incentivise consumers to have their product repaired outside of the legal guarantee, a producer may offer a loan of a replacement or refurbished good for the duration of the repair, which is expected to be returned once the consumer receives the repaired good.
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15 a (new)
Recital 15 a (new)
(15a) To ensure consumer protection and trust in repair, repairers should be liable for any repair they carry out, be it within or beyond the liability period.
Amendment 120 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) To ensure legal certainty, this Directive lists in Annex II relevant product groups covered by such reparability requirements under Union legal acts. In order to ensure coherence with future reparability requirements under Union legal acts, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of in particular adding new product groups to Annex II when new reparability requirements are adopted. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making18 . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council should receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically should have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts. __________________ 18 Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on Better Law-Making (OJ L 213,12.5.2016, p. 1)Commission may propose the revision of this Directive following the ordinary legislative procedure.
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 25
Recital 25
Amendment 151 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) The Commission should enable the development of a voluntary European quality standard for repair services, for instance by encouraging and facilitating voluntary cooperation on a standard between businesses, public authorities and other stakeholders or by issuing a standardisation request to the European standardisation organisations and SME Standardisation organisations. A European standard for repair services could boost consumer trust in repair services across the Union. Such standard could include aspects influencing consumer decisions on repair, such as the time to complete repair, the availability of temporary replacement goods, quality assurances such as a commercial guarantee on repair, and the availability of ancillary services such as removal, installation and transportation offered by repairers, and the special conditions and challenges for SMEs.
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 30
Recital 30
(30) In order to allow economic operators to adapt, transitional provisions concerning the application of some Articles of this Directive should be introduced. Thus, the obligations to repair and to provide related information on this obligation should apply to contracts for the provision of repair services after [2436 months after the entry into force]. The amendment to Directive (EU) 2019/771 should apply only to sales contracts concluded after [24 months after the entry into force] to ensure legal certainty and to provide sellers with sufficient time to adapt to the amended remedies of repair and replacement.
Amendment 173 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 33 a (new)
Recital 33 a (new)
(33a) Fostering reparability at EU level requires a smart mix of measures not exclusively rule-based. This Directive should be accompanied by other national initiatives to counter the skills shortage to ensure that reparability services within the European Union can be provided in the future.
Amendment 174 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 33 b (new)
Recital 33 b (new)
(33b) Additional incentives may be considered necessary, therefore Member States should explore measures such as lower VAT rates or reduced taxes on services and labour in order to further incentive customers to opt for a good being repaired instead of replaced. In addition, Member States should pay particular attention to micro, small and medium sized enterprises as their businesses are a vital part of the repair chain.
Amendment 175 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 33 c (new)
Recital 33 c (new)
(33c) Consumer behaviour is shaped by a wide variety of aspects. When choosing between repair and new purchase, decision criteria such as economic efficiency, durability, proximity of a repair service, and the time required play an important role. Besides the provisions laid out in this Directive, awareness- raising measures for a culture of repair, improving consumers’ knowledge about proper cleaning and care of products, and improving consumers’ knowledge about the existing rights in terms of legal guarantee should be strengthened to boost the demand for reparability services.
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 33 d (new)
Recital 33 d (new)
(33d) This Directive should focus on the business to consumer dimension of the repairs, within the Union legal acts as listed in Annex II.
Amendment 177 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 33 e (new)
Recital 33 e (new)
(33e) Where the producer’s business has been terminated, the seller or distributor must not be made subsidiarily responsible for a repair obligation
Amendment 182 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2
2. ‘repairer’ means any natural or legal person who, related to that person’s trade, business, craft or profession, provides a repair service, including producers and sellers that provide repair services and repair service providers whether independent repairers, professional repairers or affiliated with such producers or sellers;
Amendment 184 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4
4. ‘producer’ means a manufacturer as defined in Article 2, point (42) of Regulation [on the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products]ny natural or legal person who manufactures a product or who has a product designed or manufactured, and markets that product under its name or trademark;
Amendment 188 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 a (new)
10a. ‘professional repairer’ means a natural or legal person who provides repair or maintenance services for a product, irrespective of whether that person acts within the manufacturer’s distribution system or independently;
Amendment 189 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 b (new)
10b. ‘repair’ means restoring a product’s performance, functionality and safety within the intended use, range of performance and maintenance originally conceived at the design stage.
Amendment 196 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4
Article 4
Amendment 235 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that upon the consumer’s request, the producer shall repair, for free or against a price or another kind of consideration, goods for which and to the extent that reparability requirements are provided for by Union legal acts as listed in Annex II. The producer shall not be obliged to repair such goods where repair is impossible. The producer may sub-contract repair in order to fulfil its obligation to repair. In such cases, the producer shall provide the repairer with all relevant information and specifications so that the repairer, at the request of the consumers, can actually provide the repair service.
Amendment 240 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that upon the consumer’s request, the producer shall repair, for free or against a price or another kind of consideration, goods for which and to the extent that reparability requirements are provided for by Union legal acts as listed in Annex II. The producer shall not be obliged to repair such goods where repair is impossible. The producer may sub- contract repair in order to fulfil its obligation to repair.
Amendment 245 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Producers shall be able to provide refurbished goods as an alternative to repair.
Amendment 249 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 2
2. Where the producer obliged to repair pursuant to paragraph 1 is established outside the Union, its authorised representative in the Union shall perform the obligation of the producer. Where the producer has no authorised representative in the Union, the importer of the good concerned shall perform the obligation of the producer. Where there is no importer, the distributor of the good concerned shall perform the obligation of the producer.
Amendment 254 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 3
Article 5 – paragraph 3
3. Producers shall ensureallow that independent repairers have access to spare parts , notwithstanding any other product specific obligations, and repair-related information and tools in accordance with the Union legal acts listed in Annex II., without prejudice to the protection sensitive information and business secrets foreseen in Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016;
Amendment 257 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 3
Article 5 – paragraph 3
3. Producers shall ensure that independent repairers have access to spare parts and repair-related information and tools in accordance with the Union legal acts listed in Annex II. Producers shall ensure, that the software of their products does not restrict or impose barriers in the application of the product in the case of repair by independent repairers.
Amendment 273 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 4
Article 5 – paragraph 4
Amendment 275 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 4
Article 5 – paragraph 4
4. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, following an impact assessment and consultation with relevant stakeholders, in accordance with Article 15 to amend Annex II by updating the list of Union legal acts laying down reparability requirements in the light of legislative developments.
Amendment 280 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Producers shall not refuse to service or repair a device that was bought or previously repaired outside of their authorised service or distribution networks.
Amendment 283 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Member States shall ensure that producers inform consumers of their obligation to repair pursuant to Article 5 and provide information on the repair services in an easily accessible, clear and comprehensible manner free of charge, for example through the online platform referred to in Article 7.
Amendment 285 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7
Article 7
Amendment 305 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 3
Article 7 – paragraph 3
3. Registration on the online platform for repairers, as well as for sellers of goods subject to refurbishment and for purchasers of defective goods for refurbishment, shall be voluntary. Member States shall determine the access to the platform in accordance with Union law. The use of the online platform shall be free of charge for consumers.
Amendment 309 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 a (new)
Article 7 a (new)
Article 7a Measures to inform about consumers rights Member States shall take measures to ensure that consumers are informed about their consumer rights with regard to this Directive and may take measures that enable consumers to find relevant repairers, which can be done through, for example, the creation of an online platform, a dedicated information campaign, or any other means that the Member State deems appropriate. The creation of an online platform shall not impede the functioning of existing private repair platforms.
Amendment 312 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point b
Amendment 316 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 a (new)
Article 8 a (new)
Article 8a Micro, small and medium sized enterprises Member States shall take appropriate measures to help small and medium sized enterprises within the meaning of the Commission recommendation 2003/361/EC apply the requirements set out in this Directive. Those measures shall at least include: guidelines on how to demonstrate compliance with the requirements set out in this Directive.
Amendment 317 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 b (new)
Article 8 b (new)
Article 8b Micro, small and medium sized enterprises Member States shall ensure that appropriate measures are taken to help micro, small and medium sized enterprises within the meaning of Commission Recommendation 2003/362/EC to apply the requirement set out in this Directive.
Amendment 341 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
In Article 13(2) of Directive (EU) 2019/771 the following sentence is added:paragraph is added: (X) Where, in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, the consumer chooses the repair option as the remedy to bring the goods into conformity , the seller shall be liable for any lack of conformity which exists at the time the consumer received the repaired goods and which becomes apparent within 6 months after that time. This shall not apply if the seller has already successfully repaired the goods in accordance with Article 10. Without prejudice to Article 7(3), this paragraph shall also apply to goods with digital elements. This paragraph shall be without prejudice to other time limits under Article 10 and further claims of the consumer."
Amendment 343 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Directive (EU) 2019/771
Article 13 – paragraph 2
Article 13 – paragraph 2
Amendment 348 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Directive (EU) 2019/771
Article 13 (2)
Article 13 (2)
Amendment 351 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Directive (EU) 2019/771
Article 10 – paragraph 3
Article 10 – paragraph 3
Article 10 paragraph 3 of the Directive (EU) 2019/771 is deleted.
Amendment 361 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 15
Article 15
Amendment 362 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 1
Article 16 – paragraph 1
1. Article 5(1) and (2) and Article 6 of this Directive shall not apply to contracts for the provision of repair services concluded before [2436 months after the entry into force].
Amendment 365 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 2
Article 16 – paragraph 2
2. Article 12 of this Directive shall not apply to sales contracts concluded before [2436 months after the entry into force]
Amendment 367 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16 a (new)
Article 16 a (new)
Article 16a Evaluation By [5 years after the entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of this Directive and in particular assess its impact, on the proper functioning of the internal market, the level of consumer protection, its impact on businesses, particularly on micro, small and medium enterprises and the improvement of the sustainable consumption of products. The Commission shall draw up a report on its main findings and submit it to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions.
Amendment 370 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by [2436 months from the entry into force] at the latest. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof.
Amendment 373 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 3
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 3
Member States shall apply those measures from [2436 months from the entry into force].