Repairing electrical products
28.11.2018
Question for written answer E-006001-18
to the Commission
Rule 130
Christel Schaldemose (S&D)
TV2 Fyn, a regional broadcaster in Denmark, has been reporting for some time now on the increasing quantities of scrap electrical products that are building up in Denmark[1]. This problem is largely the result of a shortage of spare parts for electrical products, and a lack of competition among independent third-party repairers.
The European Parliament has addressed this issue on a number of occasions, for example, in a report drawn up in June 2017 entitled ‘A longer lifetime for products: benefits for consumers and companies’ (2016/2272(INI)) [2].
In that report, Parliament calls on the Commission to promote action to ensure that products are easier to repair, and that spare parts for those products are available.
In the car industry, for example, steps have already been taken at European level to make performance data, etc., available to independent third-party repairers in order to boost competition and increase the number of third-party car repairers — see for example Chapter 14 of the recently adopted Type Approval Regulation ((EU) 2018/858)[3].
What action has the Commission already taken in response to the call to increase the availability of spare parts that Parliament set out in the abovementioned report (2016/2272(INI))?
What practical steps is the Commission going to take in future to boost the availability of spare parts, and to increase the number of independent third-party repairers?
Is the Commission going to take action to increase the availability of, for example, the performance data of electrical appliances, to make it easier for third-party repairers to carry out repairs?