Repair cafés are taking off across Europe, spurred by a pioneering new EU law! The “Right to Repair” directive, part of the EU Green Deal, passed in April 2024 and will come into full effect in April 2026. It requires many appliance manufacturers to offer spare parts and tools for repairs at reasonable prices (as opposed to deliberate “planned failure” incentivizing new purchases), and among other safeguards it also prohibits all-too-common competition-quashing efforts to block third-party repairs via software lock-outs.