The EU’s Right to Repair Directive has been in full force since July 31st, 2026, and the gap between what the law promises and the reality consumers face hasn’t been addressed.
Spare parts routinely cost more than the point at which fixing a broken appliance still makes financial sense, and even where a part is cheap, getting someone to fit it can cost more than the item is worth.
Parts you can’t even put a price on
Before cost comes availability, and the record is patchy. A joint audit of the EU’s official product registry by the Right to Repair Europe coalition and iFixit reviewed over 7.000 listings and found compliance “abysmal”.
80% of smartphone entries lacked usable repair instructions or spare-parts pricing, and nearly half gave no information at all. Half of the tumble dryer models reviewed were non-compliant too. Some manufacturers directed consumers to marketplaces like Temu or AliExpress instead of official parts channels, while 8% wrote “see manual” with no link attached.
