Linas Ivanauskas
Head of the Electronics Distributors Association (EPA)

This June will mark two years since the European Parliament, together with the European Council, adopted a directive establishing common rules to promote the repair of goods. This directive must be transposed into the national law of European Union (EU) member states no later than July 31, 2026. Moreover, the directive obliges EU member states to implement at least one measure to encourage repair.

Some EU countries have already done so: nine of them introduced VAT reductions for repair services even before the directive was adopted. Unfortunately, Lithuania is not among these more progressive states.

There Was Talk, But No Action

The directive, of course, also set obligations for manufacturers. One of them is to supply spare parts for at least seven years from the last date the product was placed on the market. It also предусматриes an extension of the legal guarantee period and limits on repair costs.

However, the directive clearly outlines measures that member states should take to promote repair. These range widely from awareness campaigns and support for community repair initiatives to repair vouchers, repair funds, and tax incentives.

L.Ivanauskas

Unfortunately, apart from some movement in spring 2024 while discussing proposals from the “Create Lithuania” project (which were, incidentally, very similar to the measures foreseen in the directive) and promises to promote repair, those promises remained just that promises. A draft law prepared in Parliament several years ago that would have introduced tax incentives for device repair has seemingly been forgotten. This may mean that the right to repair, once enacted, could resemble the right to education when education is too expensive, or the right to healthcare when there are no doctors or the right to grow a vegetable garden in the desert without water.

A Challenge to Growth-Oriented Structures

Such passivity from public institutions may be understandable. After all, repair although closely linked to the loudly proclaimed theme of sustainability poses a challenge to growth-oriented social and economic structures that dominate and are rarely openly questioned.

A shift from buying new products to repairing old ones would require support for alternative supply systems that use fewer resources but demand a change in established attitudes toward both the economy and private consumption habits.

Attitudes toward possessions, household life, and the time and money allocated to it are not as simple as they might seem at first glance. For example, in January this year, the Electronics Distributors Association (EPA) initiated a survey to examine consumer behavior when a device breaks down. We conduct similar surveys annually, often more than once, and the trend remains largely unchanged: most people prefer to buy a new item rather than repair a broken one.

According to the latest survey, in 2025, 28% of respondents were unable to repair their device because it was too expensive, while another 28% said repair was not possible. The survey also revealed that 71% of respondents whose electronic device broke down purchased or planned to purchase a new one.

Lessons from Germany: Thuringia’s Repair Voucher Program

The Lithuanian survey, of course, could not fully reflect the nuances of consumer repair behavior revealed by a comprehensive and representative 2023 study conducted in the German region of Thuringia. This region is noteworthy because it implemented a pilot repair voucher program, allowing for deeper insights into what could be expected if financial repair incentives were introduced.

As the researchers in Thuringia confirmed, the high cost of repair services is the main barrier to consumer goods repair in Europe.

In Thuringia, a repair voucher program offered consumers up to €100 per year in repair cost compensation. Residents could claim reimbursement of 50% of total repair costs once per year for repairs carried out in professional repair workshops or repair cafés.

The environmental impact of the program was also calculated: over three years, by subsidizing around 30,300 repairs, Germany avoided approximately 2,971 tons of CO₂ emissions equivalent to the average annual emissions of 275 German citizens.

Barriers to Repair

Further analysis of repair experiences in Thuringia revealed additional obstacles. Most participants believed that buying new devices was easier than repairing old ones. As many as 45% lacked access to nearby repair services, and 40% had previously replaced broken devices due to limited pickup or home service options. This was particularly problematic for residents of smaller towns, where travel to distant repair shops increases both effort and costs. Incidentally, the situation in Lithuania is similar.

Researchers also noted that some behavioral factors are based on consumer perceptions that may not reflect reality. For example, 74% of respondents stated they did not repair a device because it was manufactured as non-repairable. Yet many admitted they had neither consulted a specialist nor investigated the issue themselves they were simply convinced it was irreparable. Considering this, we should perhaps assess the January Lithuanian survey more critically and reconsider whether price alone determines the decision to repair.

A New Wave of Money – More Purchases

The German study, whose results are publicly available, helps better understand the complexity of the right to repair and its benefits when financially supported.

Meanwhile, in Lithuania, while waiting for more visible and tangible government initiatives, we can likely predict that this year, instead of repairing older devices, even more residents will purchase new ones. Few doubt that the withdrawal of second-pillar pension savings, which has boosted household bank accounts, will accelerate consumer spending.

We have examples: in neighboring Estonia and in Chile.

In 2021, Estonia abolished mandatory participation in the second pension pillar and allowed early withdrawals. About 20% of participants took advantage of this opportunity, creating a significant influx of money into the economy, including increased household consumption especially in the first months after withdrawal.

A similar situation occurred in Chile, where temporary laws in 2020–2021 allowed many citizens to withdraw funds from their pension accounts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taking these experiences and the current state of Lithuania’s repair market into account, we can already predict that this will mean more work for electronics waste management organizations and processors provided that such waste does not end up in the illegal market, about which concerns have been raised for years in attempts to draw policymakers’ attention.

So where will we place our excellent right to repair? Activating this right may not be easy even for the current governing coalition with the Social Democrats despite their declared focus on social issues.