European Union Legislation and Regulation

The Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), which was finalized by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on January 27, 2003, bans the placement of new electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) containing lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium and both polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants as of July 1, 2006.

The RoHS Directive is currently under review by the EU Commission. Article 6 of the RoHS Directive requires the Commission to review the Directive to take into account any new scientific evidence.  In particular, the Commission is required to consider whether Categories 8 & 9 should be included into the scope of RoHS. The Commission must also evaluate whether the list of restricted substances should be modified based on scientific facts and taking the precautionary principle into account.  The examination of the issues started in 2006 and will continue during 2008. A study of possible inclusion of categories 8 & 9 has been completed and further studies launched by the Commission services are ongoing. The Commission intends to present the review in 2008.

IPC continues to urge the Commission to avoid changing the scope of RoHS at this time since the full technical, social and cost implications of the RoHS Directive’s implementation are still being discovered. IPC has also encouraged the Commission to address any further substance restrictions under the EU’s current REACH Directive in order to avoid duplicative and overlapping regulations.

• September 17, 2008 –The Electronic Interconnection Supply Chain’s Response to Öko-Institut Recommendations for Proposed Revisions to the RoHS Directive
• June 25, 2008 –IPC Brussels Meeting on RoHS Revisions Identifies Concerns with Öko-Institute Study
• June 18, 2007 – IPC Brussels Meeting Agenda and Presentations
• June 11, 2008 – IPC Letter to EU Commission Regarding Concerns Over the Oko-Institute Report” “Study on Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, Not Regulated by the RoHS Directive” (.pdf)
• May 19, 2008: IPC Initiates Scientific Dialogue on Proposed RoHS Expansion Industry Experts Urged to Attend Special Meeting
• May 9, 2008 – IPC Letter to EU Commission Regarding the Öko-Institute’s Lack of Transparency During Development of its “Study on Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, Not Regulated by the RoHS Directive” (.pdf)
• April 28, 2008: Study on Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, Not Regulated by the RoHS Directive
• March 27, 2008 – IPC Comments to the Öko-Institute Regarding its List of Potentially Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (.pdf)
• January 10, 2008 – IPC Comments to the EU Commission Regarding the RoHS Review (.pdf)

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) establishes maximum recycling targets for electronic equipment and was amended in December 2003 (.pdf). Timelines for complying with WEEE (.pdf) are summarized graphically.

Under EU law, each of the EU member states were required to implement the RoHS and WEEE directives into national law by August of 2004. The  United Kingdom has studied the implementation of RoHS throughout the EU (.pdf).