(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 the 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 Delegated Directive 2014/14/EU (2), the Commission granted an exemption for the use of mercury, with a maximum content of 3,5 mg, in single capped (compact) fluorescent lamps for general lighting purposes < 30 W with a lifetime equal or above 20 000 h (‘the exemption’), which is now listed as exemption 1(g) in Annex III to Directive 2011/65/EU. The exemption was to expire on 31 December 2017, in accordance with Annex III to Directive 2014/14/EU.

(5)

Mercury is used in single capped (compact) fluorescent lamps to produce ultraviolet light, which is then converted into visible light by the fluorescent coating on the lamp bulb.

(6)

On 28 June 2016, the Commission received an application for renewal of the exemption (‘the renewal application’), that is within the time laid down in Article 5(5) of Directive 2011/65/EU, that was updated with a renewed application on 17 January 2020. In accordance with Article 5(5) of Directive 2011/65/EU, the exemption remains valid until a decision on the renewal application has been adopted.

(7)

The evaluation of the renewal application, which took into account the availability of substitutes and the socioeconomic impact of substitution, concluded that sufficiently reliable mercury-free substitutes for the lamp types covered by the exemption are available and that the substitution is scientifically and technically practicable. Furthermore, that evaluation concluded that the benefits of substitution will clearly outweigh any negative impact. The evaluation included stakeholder consultations in accordance with Article 5(7) of Directive 2011/65/EU. The comments received during these consultations were made publicly available on a dedicated website.

(8)

As the conditions set out in Article 5(1), point (a), of Directive 2011/65/EU are no longer fulfilled, the exemption should be revoked.

(9)

An expiry date for this exemption should be set in accordance with Article 5(6) of Directive 2011/65/EU. While a small share of the lamp types (3) covered by this exemption are subject to the ecodesign criteria laid down in Annex II of Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2020 (4), which are applicable as of 1 September 2021, and will hence not be placed on the market any longer, the vast majority of lamps covered by the current exemption are not affected by the criteria under the above-mentioned Ecodesign Regulation. Consequently, the maximum possible expiry date of 18 months following the decision should be set with regard to the entire exemption entry in order to avoid unnecessary high socio-economic costs by market participants directly linked to the substitution of the latter category.

(10)

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