The new rules will need to be need to be negotiated between the European Parliament and member states before they can be turned into law. If they are, a lot more than just repairability requirements will change.

Outfits selling consumer goods in the EU will have to offer repairs free of charge within a legal guarantee period unless it would be cheaper to replace a damaged item.

Beyond that, the directive also adds a set of rights for device repairability outside of legal guarantee periods that the EC said will help make repair a better option than simply tossing a damaged product away.

Under the new post-guarantee period rule, companies that produce goods the EU defines as subject to repairability requirements (eg, appliances, commercial computer hardware, and soon cellphones and tablets) are obliged to repair such items for five to 10 years after purchase if a customer demands so, and the repair is possible.

OEMs must inform consumers about which products they are liable to repair, and consumers can request a new Repair Information Form from anyone doing a repair that makes pricing and fees more transparent. The post-guarantee period repair rule also establishes the creation of an online "repair matchmaking platform" for EU consumers and calls for the creation of a European repair standard that will "help consumers identify repairers who commit to a higher quality."

The news will be grim for the likes of Apple which have attempted to evade right of repair laws and Europe’s two year guarantee in the past.

the EC proposed a set of anti-greenwashing laws alongside passing its right to repair rule yesterday that would make it illegal to make any green claims about a product without evidence. This might be another area where Big Tech might itself in trouble. Most companies claim there are chasing circular economies when they are just chasing their tails.