Is the European Union planning to ban the repair of cars older than 15 years? No, that's not true: On July 23, 2023, the European Commission announced a proposal for a regulation on circularity requirements for vehicle design and on the management of end-of-life vehicles. That would apply to vehicles reaching end-of-life stage (ELVs) and not to cars older than 15 years.
The claim appeared in a video (no longer available, but archived here) by @ratniksvetlauns on January 26, 2024, under the title (translated from Serbian to English by Lead Stories staff):
The EU is planning to ban the repair of cars older than 15 years.
It included the text (as translated):
They have another plan. Cars that have not undergone a technical inspection for more than two years must be scrapped, even if parked on your private property.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Tuesday, January 30 2024 at 22:25:06 CET)
The poster from Serbia added the comment: "Go ahead, listen to the fake opposition and join the EU!" The claim reappeared in a video (archived here) on January 30, 2024, by @munja253 (archived here).
An almost identical claim has also appeared among Croatian TikTok users. The video (archived here) was published by @vedrankos (archived here) on January 30, 2024, stating (translated from Croatian to English by Lead Stories staff):
EU plans to start confiscating old cars! Soon, they could come for your car in the yard: You can no longer decide whether and when your car is ready for the scrapyard. The Commission's proposal strongly violates individuals' rights to their property. As well as the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The proposal, originating from the European Commission (archived here) and yet to be ratified in the European Parliament, focuses on three main aspects: circularity requirements for vehicle type approval, management of vehicles that are waste or end-of-life vehicles (archived here) and the export of used cars. The proposal does not affect fundamental rights (archived here) like the right to property.
Part of the proposal is a more precise definition of ELVs to ensure there is a better distinction between them and used vehicles. What possibly triggered the misunderstanding of the Commission's proposal is Part B of Annex I Criteria. One criterion says, "it has not had its required national technical roadworthiness test for more than two years from the date when this was last required." That's just one of the criteria for defining ELVs, and there's no mention of banning citizens from keeping a car for scrap in their private yards.
The purpose of the Commission proposal (archived here) is to ensure the proper handling of some six million vehicles taken out of service in Europe each year. The proposed changes do not allow the European Union to take vehicles away from citizens. Old cars that are still in circulation can be repaired. However, this proposal means more inspections, digital tracking of end-of-life vehicles across the EU, better separation of old cars from end-of-life cars, more fines for infringements and a ban on exporting used vehicles that are not roadworthy.
