According to an answer (20/12723) to a minor question from the Left Party group (20/12495), the German parliament is planning to support repair initiatives with a total of three million euros, but rejects a nationwide repair bonus for electrical appliances due to the current budget situation (trade-e-bility reported on the right to repair). Such a bonus would cost around 34 billion euros a year, which the government says is not affordable. Even if it were extended to furniture, garden tools or bicycles, the costs would amount to two billion euros with a subsidy of 100 euros per household. However, the government is examining alternative models, such as a producer-financed repair bonus. Initially, a funding programme for repair initiatives is to be launched this year.
According to the EU Eco-Design Directive, tablets and smartphones must be repairable from June 2025, with available spare parts and repair instructions. In addition, a warranty period will be extended by one year if consumers opt for a repair. A national repair law is currently still in the works.
In addition, Directive (EU) 2024/1799 on the promotion of the repair of goods, which was published in July, obliges economic operators to repair goods or have them repaired by contractors; the respective national implementations are to apply from July 2026.
Is the right to repair or the obligation to repair of great importance to you? trade-e-bility GmbH is working on a comprehensive solution for obligated companies and will keep you up to date with the Legal Monitoring Service. If you have any questions, please contact the trade-e-bility consulting team at beratung@trade-e-bility.de or +49/40/750687-300.
