Today, the European Commission has presented its proposal on ‘the right to repair’ – intended to promote a more sustainable use of goods throughout their life, and to adapt the Single Market to the challenges of climate change and the degradation of the environment.

The proposal encourages consumers to make more sustainable choices by providing incentives and effective tools to repair defective goods. Calling for it since 2004, the S&D Group fully supports this initiative, which will not only save citizens’ money but also help the environment and stimulate local jobs in the second-hand and repair service sector.

S&D spokesperson on the internal market and consumer protection, Christel Schaldemose, said:

“Europeans want to change their practices towards more sustainable consumption patterns in order to better protect our environment.

“We need to give to our citizens the right tools to repair their goods if they so wish. This proposal is also a great opportunity to stimulate growing sectors such as second-hand goods or repair services, and to create new jobs.”

S&D vice-president for economic matters, Biljana Borzan, commented:

"We welcome the proposal as the environment, the consumers and the economy can profit from it. We intend to make it better though, by giving the consumers more choice in how they use their rights. The EU needs to stop companies from designing products that automatically break and thus, force consumers to buy new ones.

“Durable products, but also their repair and reuse, are better for citizens' budgets and will help reduce the vicious circle of unsustainable consumption and disposal. In short, the right to repair actually means more value in your wallets and less resources in the trash!”