EU law, 2yr min?

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=475729

Whats is this Article 5 of the EU Product Warranty Directive (1999)

Article 5

Time limits

1. The seller shall be held liable under Article 3 where the lack of conformity becomes apparent within two years as from delivery of the goods. If, under national legislation, the rights laid down in Article 3(2) are subject to a limitation period, that period shall not expire within a period of two years from the time of delivery.

Click to expand...

What exactly does this mean?

Edit.... I don't think it applies in Ireland...
http://ask.metafilter.com/52962/Warranty-of-electronic-items-in-the-European-Union-or-me-vs-HP

A guy I worked with pointed this out - he bought a camcorder that developed a fault but he only spotted it just after the 1 yr warrenty was up. He found this EU law and when he mentioned it the company in question they fixed his camcorder free of charge. He bought the camcorder in Poland but he reckoned it applied here too. He got the impression companies know about this but only comply with it if you point it out.

Maybe the ECC (www.ecic.ie) can help advise on this issue?