(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 cold cathode fluorescent lamps and external electrode fluorescent lamps (CCFL and EEFL) for special purposes (‘the exemption’), which is now listed as exemption 3(a), 3(b) and 3(c) 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 a heterogeneous 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 followed in January 2020 by an additional renewal application from the same applicants. In accordance with Article 5(5) of Directive 2011/65/EU, the exemption remains valid until a decision on the renewal request 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 the substitution or elimination of mercury in the applications concerned is currently technically impracticable. However, that evaluation highlighted that mercury-free substitutes in the form of light emitting diodes lamps (LED) are available, and that they are used as lighting sources in new equipment coming on the market. The 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)

Although CCFL and EEFL in many applications have been replaced by mercury free substitutes, some applications still require such lamps to ensure their functionality and to avoid a premature generation of electrical and electronic waste.

(10)

It is therefore appropriate to grant the renewal of the exemption for a period of three years, in accordance with Article 5(2), first subparagraph, of Directive 2011/65/EU, only for those lamps used in the electrical and electronic equipment that was placed on the market before the adoption of this Directive. In accordance with Article 5(2), first subparagraph, of Directive 2011/65/EU, the duration of the exemption is unlikely to have adverse impacts on innovation.

(11)

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