(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 the exempted applications listed in Annex III to Directive 2011/65/EU.

(2)

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

(3)

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

(4)

By Delegated Directive (EU) 2014/72/EU (2), the Commission granted an exemption for the use of lead in solders and termination finishes of electrical and electronic components and finishes of printed circuit boards used in ignition modules and other electrical and electronic engine control systems, which for technical reasons must be mounted directly on or in the crankcase or cylinder of hand-held combustion engines (classes SH:1, SH:2, SH:3 of Directive 97/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3)) (“the exemption”) by including those applications in Annex III to Directive 2011/65/EU. The exemption was to expire for categories 1 to 7 and 10 on 31 December 2018, in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 5(2) of that Directive.

(5)

The Commission received an application for renewal of the exemption for categories 6 and 11 (“the renewal request”) on 30 June 2017, that is within the time limit laid down in Article 5(5) of Directive 2011/65/EU. In accordance with that provision, the exemption remains valid until a decision on the renewal request has been adopted.

(6)

The evaluation of the renewal request included stakeholder consultations in accordance with Article 5(7) of Directive 2011/65/EU.

(7)

Lead is a common alloying element in solder material to control the melting point. Alternative materials to replace the restricted substance have been successfully tested. However, additional time is needed to confirm the reliability of the lead-free products.

(8)

Currently, there are no lead-free alternatives available on the market which would provide sufficient level of reliability for the applications covered by the exemption.

(9)

Due to the lack of reliable alternatives, a substitution or elimination of lead is currently scientifically and technically impracticable for certain hand-held combustion engines. It is, therefore, appropriate, to renew the exemption. The renewal of the exemption is consistent with Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) and thus does not weaken the environmental and health protection afforded by it.

(10)

The exemption for categories 1 to 7, 10 and 11 should be renewed until 31 March 2022, in accordance with Article 4(3) and the first subparagraph of Article 5(2) 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)

For categories 8 and 9, the existing exemption remains valid as per the validity periods set out in the second subparagraph of Article 5(2) of Directive 2011/65/EU. For reasons of legal clarity, the dates of expiry should be specified in Annex III to that Directive.

(12)

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