Request for the EU to take action to defend consumers

26.3.2013

Question for written answer E-003441-13
to the Commission
Rule 117
Mario Borghezio (EFD)

According to a study carried out in Germany and published in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, many electrical household appliances have been designed by their creators to break once their warranty period expires.

Planned wear and tear is a mass phenomenon which mainly affects a range of inkjet printers, which, after printing a few thousand pages, indicate that repairs are necessary, even if the machine could continue to print without any problem; the resoling of shoes, where glued soles are often used which wear away rapidly, are impossible to remove and so must be replaced. And also in many jacket zips, the teeth of the zip are coiled; or in washing machines, the heating rods rust too easily, meaning that the users of the appliances must replace them at great cost.

The study defines the phenomenon of early wear and tear in appliances as ‘planned obsolescence’, since the manufacturers appear to deliberately insert weak points or use poor-quality materials intended to wear rapidly.

Does the Commission not believe that greater regulation and clearer standards regarding the reparability and replacement of spare parts are necessary in order to protect consumers?

OJ C 12 E, 16/01/2014