On 21 of July, new rules to ban heavy metals and other dangerous chemicals in electrical and electronic equipment in a wider range of products enters into force. The new Directive is now been extended to all electronic equipment, cables and spare parts in order to protect the consumers and the environment. Member States have now 18 months to transpose the new rules.

The revision of the RoHS Directive on the restriction of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment has as main goal to improve the safety of electronic products such as thermostats, medical devices and control panels, and will prevent the release of hazardous substances into the environment. The Directive sets strict limit values for lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls or polybrominated diphenyl ethers in specified types of electrical and electronic equipment and is to be regularly adapted. The list of banned substances will be reviewed on a regular basis, although exemptions can still be granted in cases where no satisfactory alternative is available.

In particular, the key elements of the new Directive are a gradual extension of the rules to all electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), cables and spare parts, with a view to full compliance by 2019; a review of the list of banned substances by July 2014, and periodically thereafter; clearer and more transparent rules for granting exemptions from the substance ban; improved coherence with the REACH Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals; clarification of important definitions; and CE marking denoting compliance with European norms reserved for electronic products that also respect RoHS requirements.

The new Directive introduces transition periods of up to 8 years for the new products affected by the rules. Photovoltaic panels are exempted from the new Directive in an effort to help the EU reach its objectives for renewable energy and energy efficiency.