The new ecodesign framework in the European Union

Published

Dec 22 2023

Written By

Associate
Italy

As an associate in the Milan office of Bird & Bird, I focus on intellectual property, advertising, unfair competition and consumer protection law.

Rita Tardiolo

Partner
Italy

As a partner in our Milan-based Intellectual Property practice, I focus on trademarks, Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), advertising, unfair competition and consumer protection law, assisting both domestic and international clients with contentious and non-contentious matters. I am also the co-head of our international sub-sector Luxury, Fashion & Retail within the Retail & Consumer group.

On 4 December 2023, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union reached provisional agreement on the text of the European Commission's proposal for Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (hereafter the “Regulation”), which will replace the current Directive 2009/125/EC. The proposal was published by the Commission on 30 March 2022.

The new Regulation is intended to enable the placing on the market and putting into service within the European Union of products designed and manufactured according to sustainability criteria, in terms of durability, reliability, reusability, upgradeability, reparability, recyclability and ease of handling concerning maintenance.

This objective will be pursued through the provision of product design requirements, product labelling rules, prescriptions regarding the “destruction” of unsold products as well as the introduction of a digital product passport, together with penalties for infringements. The regulation will also contain rules on EU Declarations of Product Conformity and CE marking.

The European legislator is expected to formally vote on the reached agreement so that the Regulation can be definitively adopted and enter into force. The plenary of the European Parliament in which the vote on the text could take place is scheduled to be held in spring 2024.

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