(1)

Directive 2011/65/EU requires Member States to ensure that electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market does not contain the hazardous substances listed in Annex II to that Directive. That restriction does not apply to certain exempted applications listed in Annex III to that Directive.

(2)

The categories of electrical and electronic equipment to which Directive 2011/65/EU applies are listed in Annex I to that Directive.

(3)

Mercury is a restricted substance listed in Annex II to Directive 2011/65/EU.

(4)

By Decision 2010/571/EU (2), the Commission granted, among other things, an exemption for the use of mercury in other linear fluorescent lamps for other general lighting and special purposes (e.g. induction lamps)(‘the exemption’), which is now listed as exemption 2(b)(4) in Annex III to Directive 2011/65/EU .The exemption was to expire on 21 July 2016, in accordance with Article 5(2), second subparagraph, point (a), of that Directive.

(5)

The exemption covers an inhomogeneous group of lamps of different shapes, technologies, applications, and purposes. Mercury is used in the discharge tube, which is essential to convert electrical energy to light.

(6)

On 15 January 2015, the Commission received an application for renewal of the exemption (‘the renewal application’), that is within the time limit laid down in Article 5(5) of Directive 2011/65/EU, which was updated on 20 January 2020 by an additional renewal application. In accordance with Article 5(5) of that Directive, the exemption remains valid until a decision on the renewal application has been taken.

(7)

The evaluation of the renewal application, which took into account the availability of substitutes and the socioeconomic impact of substitution, concluded that the substitution or elimination of mercury in the applications concerned is currently technically impracticable. That evaluation included stakeholder consultations in accordance with Article 5(7) of Directive 2011/65/EU. The comments received during those consultations were made publicly available on a dedicated website.

(8)

The exemption is consistent with Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) and thus does not weaken the environmental and health protection afforded by it.

(9)

It is therefore appropriate to grant the renewal of the exemption taking into account the general aim that exemptions from the restriction for certain specific materials or components should be limited in their scope and duration, in order to achieve a gradual phase-out of hazardous substances in EEE.

(10)

In order to allow for a timely reassessment of the availability of mercury-free replacement lamps for the wide variety of lamp types covered by this exemption, it is appropriate to grant the renewal of the exemption for a limited period of three years. However, for specific lamp categories, namely lamps emitting light in the non-visible spectrum (new sub-entry 2(b)(4)-II of Annex III) and emergency lamps (new sub-entry 2(b)(4)-III of Annex III), there is sufficient information that substitution is technically impracticable in the next years and for those categories of lamps, a validity period of five years should be justified, in accordance with Article 5(2), first subparagraph, of Directive 2011/65/EU. In view of the results of the ongoing efforts to find a reliable substitution, the duration of the exemption is unlikely to have adverse impacts on innovation.

(11)

Directive 2011/65/EU should therefore be amended accordingly,