EU as regards empowering consumers for the green transition through better protection against unfair practices and better information - Main contents

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dossier	COM(2022)143 - Amending directives 2005/29/EC, 2011/83/EU as regards empowering consumers for the green transition through better ...
document	COM(2022)143
date	February 28, 2024

Article 1

Amendments to Directive 2005/29/EC

Directive 2005/29/EC is amended as follows:

(1)

in Article 2, the first paragraph is amended as follows:

(a)

the following point is inserted:

‘(ca)

“goods” means goods as defined in Article 2, point (5), of Directive (EU) 2019/771 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*1);

(*1) Directive (EU) 2019/771 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods, amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 and Directive 2009/22/EC, and repealing Directive 1999/44/EC (OJ L 136, 22.5.2019, p. 28).’;"

(b)

the following points are added:

‘(o)

“environmental claim” means any message or representation which is not mandatory under Union or national law, in any form, including text, pictorial, graphic or symbolic representation, such as labels, brand names, company names or product names, in the context of a commercial communication, and which states or implies that a product, product category, brand or trader has a positive or zero impact on the environment or is less damaging to the environment than other products, product categories, brands or traders, or has improved its impact over time;

(p)	“generic environmental claim” means any environmental claim made in written or oral form, including through audiovisual media, that is not included on a sustainability label and where the specification of the claim is not provided in clear and prominent terms on the same medium;

(q)

“sustainability label” means any voluntary trust mark, quality mark or equivalent, either public or private, that aims to set apart and promote a product, a process or a business by reference to its environmental or social characteristics, or both, and excludes any mandatory label required under Union or national law;

(r)

“certification scheme” means a third-party verification scheme that certifies that a product, process or business complies with certain requirements, that allows for the use of a corresponding sustainability label, and the terms of which, including its requirements, are publicly available and meet the following criteria:

(i)	the scheme is open under transparent, fair, and non-discriminatory terms to all traders willing and able to comply with the scheme’s requirements;

(ii)	the scheme’s requirements are developed by the scheme owner in consultation with relevant experts and stakeholders;

(iii)

the scheme sets out procedures for dealing with non-compliance with the scheme’s requirements and provides for the withdrawal or suspension of the use of the sustainability label by the trader in case of non-compliance with the scheme’s requirements; and

(iv)	the monitoring of a trader’s compliance with the scheme’s requirements is subject to an objective procedure and is carried out by a third party whose competence and independence from both the scheme owner and the trader are based on international, Union or national standards and procedures;

(s)

“recognised excellent environmental performance” means environmental performance compliant with Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*2) or with national or regional EN ISO 14024 type I ecolabelling schemes officially recognised in the Member States, or top environmental performance in accordance with other applicable Union law;

(t)	“durability” means durability as defined in Article 2, point (13), of Directive (EU) 2019/771;

(u)

“software update” means an update that is necessary to keep goods with digital elements, digital content and digital services in conformity in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/770 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*3) and Directive (EU) 2019/771, including a security update, or a functionality update;

(v)	“consumable” means any component of a good that is used up recurrently and that needs to be replaced or replenished for the good to function as intended;

(w)	“functionality” means functionality as defined in Article 2, point (9), of Directive (EU) 2019/771.

(*2) Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the EU Ecolabel (OJ L 27, 30.1.2010, p. 1)."

(*3) Directive (EU) 2019/770 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services (OJ L 136, 22.5.2019, p. 1).’;"

(2)

Article 6 is amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 1, point (b) is replaced by the following:

‘(b)

the main characteristics of the product, such as its availability, benefits, risks, execution, composition, environmental or social characteristics, accessories, circularity aspects, such as durability, reparability or recyclability, after-sale customer assistance and complaint handling, method and date of manufacture or provision, delivery, fitness for purpose, usage, quantity, specification, geographical or commercial origin or the results to be expected from its use, or the results and material features of tests or checks carried out on the product.’;

(b)

in paragraph 2, the following points are added:

‘(d)

making an environmental claim related to future environmental performance without clear, objective, publicly available and verifiable commitments set out in a detailed and realistic implementation plan that includes measurable and time-bound targets and other relevant elements necessary to support its implementation, such as allocation of resources, and that is regularly verified by an independent third party expert, whose findings are made available to consumers;

(e)	advertising benefits to consumers that are irrelevant and do not result from any feature of the product or business.’;

(3)

in Article 7, the following paragraph is added:

‘7.

Where a trader provides a service which compares products and provides the consumer with information on environmental or social characteristics or on circularity aspects, such as durability, reparability or recyclability, of the products or suppliers of those products, information about the method of comparison, the products which are the object of comparison and the suppliers of those products, as well as the measures in place to keep that information up to date, shall be regarded as material information.’;

(4)	Annex I is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Directive.

Article 2

Amendments to Directive 2011/83/EU

Directive 2011/83/EU is amended as follows:

(1)

in Article 2, the following points are inserted:

‘(14a)

“commercial guarantee of durability” means a producer’s commercial guarantee of durability as referred to in Article 17 of Directive (EU) 2019/771, under which the producer is directly liable to the consumer during the entire period of the commercial guarantee of durability for repair or replacement of the goods in accordance with Article 14 of Directive (EU) 2019/771, whenever the goods do not maintain their durability;

(14b)

“durability” means durability as defined in Article 2, point (13), of Directive (EU) 2019/771;

(14c)

“producer” means producer as defined in Article 2, point (4), of Directive (EU) 2019/771;

(14d)

“reparability score” means a score expressing the capacity of a good to be repaired, based on harmonised requirements established at Union level;

(14e)

“software update” means a free update, including a security update, that is necessary to keep goods with digital elements, digital content and digital services in conformity in accordance with Directives (EU) 2019/770 and (EU) 2019/771;’;

(2)

in Article 5, paragraph 1 is amended as follows:

(a)

point (e) is replaced by the following:

‘(e)	a reminder of the existence of the legal guarantee of conformity for goods and its main elements, including its minimum duration of two years as provided in Directive (EU) 2019/771, in a prominent manner, using the harmonised notice referred to in Article 22a of this Directive;’;

(b)

the following points are inserted:

‘(ea)

where the producer offers the consumer a commercial guarantee of durability at no additional cost, covering the entire good and with a duration of more than two years and makes that information available to the trader, the information that that good benefits from such a guarantee, its duration and a reminder of the existence of the legal guarantee of conformity, in a prominent manner, using the harmonised label referred to in Article 22a;

(eb)	a reminder of the existence of the legal guarantee of conformity for digital content and digital services;

(ec)	where applicable, the existence and the conditions of after-sales services and commercial guarantees;

(ed)

for goods with digital elements, for digital content and for digital services, where the producer or provider makes the information available to the trader, the minimum period, whether expressed as a period of time or by reference to a date, during which the producer or the provider provides software updates.’;

(c)

the following points are added:

‘(i)	where applicable, the reparability score for the goods;

(j)

where point (i) is not applicable and provided that the producer makes the information available to the trader, information about the availability and estimated cost of, and procedure for ordering, spare parts that are necessary to keep the goods in conformity, about the availability of repair and maintenance instructions and about repair restrictions.’;

(3)

in Article 6, paragraph 1 is amended as follows:

(a)

point (g) is replaced by the following:

‘(g)	the arrangements for payment, delivery, including environmentally friendly delivery options where available, performance, the time by which the trader undertakes to deliver the goods or to perform the services and, where applicable, the trader’s complaint handling policy;’;

(b)

point (l) is replaced by the following:

‘(l)	a reminder of the existence of the legal guarantee of conformity for goods and its main elements, including its minimum duration of two years as provided in Directive (EU) 2019/771, in a prominent manner, using the harmonised notice referred to in Article 22a of this Directive;’;

(c)

the following points are inserted:

‘(la)

where the producer offers the consumer a commercial guarantee of durability at no additional cost, covering the entire good and with a duration of more than two years, and makes that information available to the trader, the information that that good benefits from such a guarantee, its duration and a reminder of the existence of the legal guarantee of conformity, in a prominent manner, using the harmonised label referred to in Article 22a;

(lb)	a reminder of the existence of the legal guarantee of conformity for digital content and digital services;

(lc)

for goods with digital elements, for digital content and for digital services, where the producer or the provider makes the information available to the trader, the minimum period, whether expressed as a period of time or by reference to a date, during which the producer or the provider provides software updates.’;

(d)

the following points are added:

‘(u)	where applicable, the reparability score for the goods;

(v)

where point (u) is not applicable and provided that the producer makes the information available to the trader, information about the availability and estimated cost of, and procedure for ordering, spare parts that are necessary to keep the goods in conformity, about the availability of repair and maintenance instructions and about repair restrictions.’;

(4)

in Article 8(2), the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:

‘2.

If a distance contract to be concluded by electronic means places the consumer under an obligation to pay, the trader shall make the consumer aware in a clear and prominent manner, and directly before the consumer places his order, of the information provided for in Article 6(1), points (a), (e), (la), (o) and (p).’;

(5)

the following article is inserted in Chapter V:

‘Article 22a

Harmonised notice and harmonised label

1. In order to ensure that consumers are well informed and can easily understand their rights throughout the Union, a harmonised notice shall be used for the provision of information pursuant to Article 5(1), point (e), and Article 6(1), point (l), and a harmonised label shall be used for the provision of information pursuant to Article 5(1), point (ea), and Article 6(1), point (la).

2. By 27 September 2025 the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, specify the design and content of the harmonised notice referred to in paragraph 1.

3. The harmonised notice shall contain the main elements of the legal guarantee of conformity, including its minimum duration of two years as provided in Directive (EU) 2019/771 and a general reference to the possibility that the duration of the legal guarantee of conformity is longer under national law.

4. By 27 September 2025 the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, specify the design and content of the harmonised label referred to in paragraph 1.

5. The harmonised notice and the harmonised label shall be easily recognisable and understandable for consumers and easy to use and reproduce for traders.

6. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 27a.’

;

(6)

the following article is inserted:

‘Article 27a

Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*4).

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

(*4) Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).’."

Article 3

Reporting by the Commission and review

By 27 September 2031, the Commission shall submit a report on the application of this Directive to the European Parliament and to the Council.

That report shall include an assessment of this Directive’s contribution to enhancing consumer rights, in particular the effectiveness of the harmonised label and the harmonised notice with regard to improving the availability of commercial guarantees of durability and consumers’ understanding thereof, as well as consumers’ awareness of their rights under the legal guarantee of conformity. Furthermore, the report shall assess this Directive’s overall contribution to the participation of consumers in the green transition and its impact on traders.

That report shall be accompanied, where appropriate, by relevant legislative proposals.

Article 4

Transposition

1. By 27 March 2026, Member States shall adopt and publish the measures necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof.

They shall apply those measures from 27 September 2026.

When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main measures of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 5

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 6

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.