Progress on the European right to repair is still slow. Eighteen EU Member States, including France, Italy and Spain, have received a letter of formal notice from Brussels because they have failed to transpose the European rules agreed in 2024 into national law on time.
This should have been done by 31 July 2026. However, many governments have drawn up their plans too late. Due to the delay, it is uncertain whether the rules can come into force everywhere this year.
Doubts over whether the plans are even feasible
In several countries there are further hurdles to overcome regarding the right to repair. For example, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), which champions consumers’ interests, has doubts as to whether the plans are even feasible. According to the independent regulator, the European legislation, for example, places too much responsibility on the consumer. Consumers would have to take all sorts of complicated steps to exercise their right to repair: contacting manufacturers, comparing prices, arranging for replacement parts… The ACM believes this is too complex for many people.
With the right to repair, the EU aims to make it easier and more appealing to have items repaired by a professional repairer. It seems unlikely that this goal will be achieved in the short term. “If only because the right to repair applies only to a small number of products,” says Martine Postma of Repair Café International. “Coffee makers, vacuum cleaners and toasters, for example, are not included for the time being.”
Repair Cafés remain the only attractive option for many broken items
According to her, Repair Cafés are still the most attractive option for those items when they break. “And that certainly applies to the repair of relatively cheap items. After all, most people aren’t prepared to pay an hourly rate of 60 or 70 euros to have a product repaired when its new price in the shop is lower. Fortunately, there are thousands of Repair Cafés across Europe where you can go.”
More information
- View the list of EU countries that have now introduced measures
- Read the EU explainer with everything you need to know about the European right to repair
- Find out which items the right to repair actually applies to
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