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 following points (o) to (y) are added:

‘(o) ‘environmental claim’ means any message or representation, which is not mandatory under Union law or national law, including text, pictorial, graphic or symbolic representation, in any form, including labels, brand names, company names or product names, in the context of a commercial communication, which states or implies that a product or trader has a positive or no impact on the environment or is less damaging to the environment than other products or traders, respectively, or has improved their impact over time;

(p) ‘explicit environmental claim’ means an environmental claim that is in textual form or contained in a sustainability label;

(q) ‘generic environmental claim’ means any explicit environmental claim, not contained in a sustainability label, where the specification of the claim is not provided in clear and prominent terms on the same medium;

(r) ‘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 with reference to its environmental or social aspects or both. This does not cover any mandatory label required in accordance with Union or national law;

(s) ‘certification scheme’ means a third-party verification scheme that is open under transparent, fair and non-discriminatory terms to all traders willing and able to comply with the scheme’s requirements, which certifies that a product complies with certain requirements, and for which the monitoring of compliance is objective, based on international, Union or national standards and procedures and carried out by a party independent from both the scheme owner and the trader;

(t) ‘sustainability information tool’ means software, including a website, part of a website or an application, operated by or on behalf of a trader, which provides information to consumers about environmental or social aspects of products, or which compares products on those aspects;

(u) ‘recognised excellent environmental performance’ means environmental performance compliant with Regulation (EC) 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council*, with national or regional EN ISO 14024 type I ecolabelling schemes officially recognised in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EC) 66/2010, or top environmental performance in accordance with other applicable Union law;

(v) ‘durability’ means durability as defined in Article 2, point (13), of Directive (EU) 2019/771 of the European Parliament and of the Council**;

(w) ‘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;

(x) ‘consumable’ means any component of a good that is used up recurrently and needs to be replaced for the good to function as intended;

(y) ‘functionality’ means functionality as defined in point (9) of Article 2 of Directive (EU) 2019/771.

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* 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).

** 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).’;

(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 impact, accessories, durability, reparability, 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 (d) and (e) are added:

‘(d) making an environmental claim related to future environmental performance without clear, objective and verifiable commitments and targets and without an independent monitoring system;

(e) advertising benefits for consumers that are considered as a common practice in the relevant market.’

(3) in Article 7, the following paragraph (7) is added:

‘7. Where a trader provides a service which compares products, including through a sustainability information tool, 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.’;

(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) Article 2 is amended as follows:

(a)the following point (3a) is inserted:

‘(3a) ‘energy-using good’ means any good that depends on energy input (electricity, fossil fuels and renewable energy sources) to work as intended;’;

(b)the following points (14a) to (14e) are inserted:

‘(14a) ‘commercial guarantee of durability’ means a producer’s commercial guarantee of durability 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 that guarantee for repair or replacement of the goods;

(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 a method established in accordance with Union law;

(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)the following points (ea) to (ed) are inserted:

‘(ea) for all goods, where the producer makes it available, information that the goods benefit from a commercial guarantee of durability and its duration in units of time, where that guarantee covers the entire good and has a duration of more than two years;

(eb) for energy-using goods, where the producer does not make available the information referred to in point (ea), information that the producer has not provided information on the existence of a commercial guarantee of durability of more than two years. This information shall be at least as prominent as any other information about the existence and the conditions of after-sales services and commercial guarantees provided in accordance with point (e);

(ec) for goods with digital elements, where the producer makes such information available, the minimum period in units of time during which the producer provides software updates, unless the contract provides for a continuous supply of the digital content or digital service over a period of time. Where information about the existence of a commercial guarantee of durability is provided in accordance with point (ea), the information on the updates shall be provided if those updates are supplied for a longer period than the commercial guarantee of durability;

(ed) for digital content and digital services, where their provider is different from the trader and makes such information available, the minimum period in units of time during which the provider provides software updates, unless the contract provides for a continuous supply of the digital content or digital service over a period of time;’

(b)the following points (i) and (j) are added:

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

(j) when point (i) is not applicable, information made available by the producer about the availability of spare parts, including the procedure of ordering them, and about the availability of a user and repair manual.’;

(3) in Article 6, paragraph 1 is amended as follows:

(a)the following points (ma) to (md) are inserted:

‘(ma) for all types of goods, where the producer makes it available, information that the goods benefit from a commercial guarantee of durability and its duration in units of time, where that guarantee covers the entire good and has a duration of more than two years;

(mb) for energy-using goods, where the producer does not make available information referred to in point (ma), information that the producer has not provided information on the existence of a commercial guarantee of durability of more than two years. This information shall be at least as prominent as any other information about the existence and the conditions of after-sales services and commercial guarantees provided in accordance with point (m);

(mc) for goods with digital elements, where the producer makes such information available, the minimum period in units of time during which the producer provides software updates, unless the contract provides for a continuous supply of the digital content or digital service over a period of time. Where information about the existence of a commercial guarantee of durability is provided in accordance with point (ma), the information on the updates shall be provided if those updates are supplied for a longer period than the commercial guarantee of durability;

(md) for digital content and digital services, where their provider is different from the trader and makes such information available, the minimum period in units of time during which the provider provides software updates, unless the contract provides for a continuous supply of the digital content or digital service over a period of time;’

(b)the following points (u) and (v) are added:

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

(v) when point (u) is not applicable, information made available by the producer about the availability of spare parts, including the procedure of ordering them, and about the availability of a user and repair manual.’;

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

‘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), (ma), (mb), (o) and (p).’.

Article 3

Reporting by the Commission and review

By [5 years from adoption], the Commission shall submit a report on the application of this Directive to the European Parliament and to the Council.

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

Article 4

Transposition

1. Member States shall adopt and publish by [18 months from adoption] at the latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions.

They shall apply those provisions from [24 months from adoption].

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions in 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.