Posted in The Restart Project Blog, Community Subscribe to our posts

Urgent Right to Repair mobilisation in Europe

Update as of 5th October: Thanks in part to public pressure, the measures have been given a green light by the European Commission. However, over the next couple of months, before a Council of the European Union vote (where each member country votes) they could be watered down significantly. We need to maintain our pressure on the UK to step out of the way, so all below still applies. More detail.

__

Ever since our global Fixfest last year, we’ve been working on an emerging Right to Repair campaign in Europe (and the UK) with a growing network of organisations. We and partners in Brussels were slightly taken off guard with the speed of developments in recent days.

This is not a drill!

We’re urgently mobilising to save the crucial, pro-Right-to-Repair measures in the European Commission’s “Circular Economy Package”. This week or in coming weeks (it’s all quite obscure), the EU Over the coming months, EU member states may throw out over two years’ work on creating better product standards for longer-lasting products, specifically appliances and electronics. We stand to lose:

  • access to spare parts
  • repair documentation
  • easier disassembly

We’ve been mobilising quietly and calmly to support a vote on these measures towards the end of the year, but back-room dealing and corporate lobbying may come and render all of our efforts useless in coming weeks.

Key countries – including the UK – are blocking. We need the UK to step out of the way, and our German partners to pressure their government not to bow before the massive manufacturer lobby.

Why the pushback by industry? And why should everybody care around the world? Given the size of the EU market, these measures are potentially game-changing on a global scale. But Europe’s relative size and influence will not last forever. This is a unique opportunity.

What you can do

1.) If you live in the UK, sign our petition and share widely. (If you are German, sign this one. If you are Italian, sign this one.)

2.) Wherever you live, stay informed via our monthly newsletter.

3.) If you are part of a community repair organisation in Europe, get news about a future Right to Repair campaign here.

If this is not enough for you, we’d love to hear from you, whoever you are! Don’t hesitate to get in touch.

2 responses

  1. Manuel

    We must overcome our tendency to build things to be replaced in the short term.

    The economy must adapt to a new way of thinking of consumption.

    We the consumers have the power to push this change.

  2. Gary Henderson

    Economists need to figure out how societies should operate to maintain overall prosperity in a non-growth scenario. There would clearly be less drain on resources so it must be possible…

Add a response

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *