EN   EN  
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2023) XXX  draft  
 
COMMISSION DELEGATED DIRECTIVE (EU) .../…  
of XXX  
amending Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as 
regards an exemption for cadmium in downshifting quantum dots directly deposited on 
LED semiconductor chips  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
This draft has not been adopted or endorsed by the European Commission. Any 
views expressed are the preliminary views of the Commission services and may not 
in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the Commission.   
 
  
EN 1  EN  EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM  
1. CONTEXT  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
This Commission Delegated Directive amends, for the purpose of adapting to technical and scientific 
progress, Annex I II to Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the 
restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment ( ‘the 
RoHS Directive ’)1 as regards an  exemption for specific applications containing cadmium . 
Article 4 of the RoHS Directive restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and 
electronic equipment (EEE). Currently, 10 substances are restricted and listed in Annex II to the 
Directive: lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB s), 
polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE s), bis(2 -ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), butyl benzyl 
phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP).  
Annexes III and IV to the RoHS Directive list the materials and components of EEE for specific 
applications exempted from the substance restrictions in Article  4(1) of the Directive. Article  5 
allows  Annexes III and IV to be adapted to scientific and technica l progress (on the granting, 
renewing and revoking of exemptions). Under Article  5(1)(a), exemptions are to be included in 
Annexes III and IV only if this does not weaken the environmental and health protection afforded by 
Regulation (EC) No  1907/2006 ( ‘the REACH  Regulation’ )2 and if any of the  three conditions below 
are met :  
 if the elimination or substitution via design changes or materials and components that do not 
require any of the materials or substances listed in Annex II is scientifically or techni cally 
impracticable;  
 if the reliability of substitutes is not ensured;  
 if the total negative environmental, health and consumer -safety impacts of substitution are 
likely to outweigh the total environmental, health and consumer -safety benefits.  
Decisions on exemptions, and their duration, must take into account the availability of substitutes 
and the socio -economic impact of substitution. Decisions on the duration of exemptions must take 
into account any potential impact on innovation. Life -cycle thinking on the overall impact of the 
exemption must apply, where relevant.  
Article 5(1) of the RoHS Directive allows  the Commission to include materials and components of 
EEE for specific applications in the lists in Annexes  III and IV by means of individual deleg ated acts 
pursuant to Article  20. Article  5(3) and Annex  V lay down  the procedure for submitting exemption 
applications.  
The Commission receives  many requests from businesses to grant or renew exemptions according to 
Article 5(3) and Annex V  to the RoHS Di rective . 
In October 2017, by Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/1975, exemption 39(a) replaced the 
previous exemption 39 in Annex III to the RoHS Directive3. Exemption 39(a) concerns the use of 
                                                 
1 OJ L 174, 1.7.2011, p. 88.  
2 Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning 
the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and establishing a European 
Chemicals Agency (OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p . 1). 
3  OJ L 281, 31.10.2017, p p. 29-31  
EN 2  EN  cadmium selenide in downshifting cadmium -based semicondu ctor nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) 
for use in display lighting applications. The expiry date was set for 31  October  20194.  
In September 2017 and in April 2018, w ithin the timeframe f or renewal laid down in Article  5(5) of 
the RoHS  Directive , the Commission received three  request s to amend  the scope and to prolong the 
duration of exemption  39(a) in Annex III. According to Article 5(5), the existing exemption remains 
valid until a decision on the renewal application is taken by the Commission.  The exemption requests 
differed in their applied configuration of QDs as well as in the application area. The three exemption 
requests concerned respectively:  
(a) the use of cadmium (<1  000 ppm) in luminescent material for on -chip application on light -
emittin g diode (LED) semiconductor chips for use in lighting applications of a colour 
rendering index of at least 80 for a validity period of 5 years;  
(b) the use of  cadmium in downshifting semiconductor nanocrystal QDs directly deposited on 
LED chips for use in disp lay and projection applications (< 5μg cadmium  per mm² of LED 
chip surface)  for a validity period of 5 years ; 
(c) limiting the cadmium concentration by amending the existing exemption (<0.1 µg per mm² of 
display screen area) and prolonging it until 31 October  2021.  
2. CONSULTATIONS  PRIOR  TO THE  ADOPTION  OF THE  ACT  
To evaluate these renewal applications, the Commission launched a study  in December 20175 to 
carry out the required technical and scientific assessment. The study, which included an eight -week 
public  consultation, was published in January 2021. Information about the consultation was provided 
on the project website6. Five stakeholders provided comments in the consultation and their 
contributions were taken into account in the technical assessment repor t. 
The Commission presented the results of the study in a meeting of experts from Member States 
under the RoHS  Directive on 23  February  20217. Some experts expressed their disagreement with 
the report’s conclusions on the criteria set out in Article 5 of t he RoHS Directive. In particular, these 
experts considered that the benefits of granting an exemption would not outweigh the negative 
impacts consisting of not substituting cadmium in the applications concerned. The assessment results 
were subsequently rev iewed by the Commission considering the comments and open questions. On 
6 April  2022, the Commission presented reviewed conclusions and invited comments on these 
conclusions from the Member State experts. These comments from Member State experts were 
simil ar to the previous comments and emphasised that this sector of the market was very dynamic. A 
follow -up study to update the information on the use of QD applications in displays and lighting was 
prepared and published in December 20228.  
The Commission pre pared a draft delegated directive and made it available to the public for 4 weeks. 
[No contributions were received and  no substantial changes to the draft act were required.]  
                                                 
4  OJ L 285, 1.11.2017, p p. 32-32. 
5  Final Report of the study (Pack 15 Task 5) is available at  https://op.europa.eu/en/publication -detail/ -
/publication/afa12b2f -5a0a -11eb -b59f-01aa75ed71a1/language -en/fo rmat-PDF/source -187695217 .  
6 Consultation period: 18 March 2019 until 13 May 2019 https://rohs.exemptions.oeko.info/ .  
7  https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert -groups -
register/screen/meetings/consult?lang=en&meetingId=23745&fromExpertGroups=true .  
8  Study to update the information un the use of cadmium in quantu m dot applications for displays and lighting 
under Directive 2011/65/EU – Final report is available at https://op.europa.eu/en/publication -detail/ -
/publication/ac232efe -76ad -11ed -9887 -01aa75ed71a1/language -en/format -PDF/source -277797051 .   
EN 3  EN  All necessary steps relating to exemptions from the substance restriction pursuant to Articles 5(3) to 
5(7) have been taken9. The Council and the European Parliament were notified of all activities.  
Technical evaluation  
Cadmium (typically based on cadmium selenide or cadmium sul phide) can be used in materials  that 
convert blue L ED light into narrow emission spectr a, so-called downconverters. Cadmium -
containing downconverters lead to fewer losses in the spectral non -visible infrared range than 
cadmium -free downconverter s. This means that cadmium -containing downconverters  can resul t in 
light sources with lower waste heat and thus be more energy efficient. Because  these converters owe 
these improved properties to particles of a few nanometres in size, they are also called quantum dots 
(QDs). 
The exemption requests concern cadmium -based QDs in LEDs for display applications  and lighting 
applications  (solid -state lighting). Solid -state lighting applications are not covered by the existing 
exemption 39(a) in Annex III of the RoHS Directive. The pace of develop ment in  new lighting and 
display applications is very fast, and in recent years many applications were replaced by alternatives 
which compl y with the RoHS Directive.  
There are different ways  to implement QD technology  in display or lighting applications. ‘On-edge 
technology’ incorpora tes QDs into a remote component situated in close proximity to the LED chips. 
In ‘on -surface technology’, the QDs are encapsulated in a film that covers the complete display area.  
In ‘on -chip technology’, the QDs are placed directly on the LED surface, enc apsulated within its 
LED package.  
The on -chip configuration requires the lowest amount of cadmium -based QD material in 
applications, and therefore uses the lowest amount of cadmium. The on -edge configuration is the 
next most efficient in its use of cadmium -based QD material, while the on -surface configuration 
requires the highest amount – relatively – of cadmium -based QD material.  
The following three developments must be taken into account.  
i. It is understood that on-edge applications  have become obsolete on  the market.  
 
ii. The exemption request under (c) covers on-surface applications  of cadmium QD in displays. 
Cadmium -free QD alternatives are more developed in on -surface configurations than in on -chip 
configurations and are already available on the market and sufficiently reliable. In addition, 
cadmium  QD below 100  ppm of cadmium  are also available , which is below the threshold value 
for cadmium in Annex II of the RoHS Directive . The argument previously was that on -surface 
cadmium QD applications have superior energy efficiencies compared to cadmium -free 
applications. However, the mark et availability of similar or better -performing cadmium -free 
alternatives on the QD level is confirmed. In conclusion, the criteria for an exemption are not 
met. 
 
iii. The exemptions requested under applications (a) and (b) can be subsumed under the 
configurati on ‘on -chip’. For on-chip applications , the market availability of cadmium QD LED 
can be distinguished between lighting and display applications, both of which are discussed in 
the sections below.  
 
                                                 
9 A list of the required administrative steps is available on the Commission website . The current stage of the 
procedure can be viewed for each draft delegated act in the Interinstitutional Registry of Delegated Acts at 
https://webgat e.ec.europa.eu/regdel/#/home .  
EN 4  EN  Lighting applications  
Application ( a) cover s lighting app lications , which are not in the scope of the current exemption 
39(a). For lighting applications , RoHS -compliant alternatives on the level of colour -conversion 
material or QD with cadmium below 100  ppm are available on the market and considered reliable. 
However, for the high -quality light segment in particular, the cadmium QD LED can have higher 
energy efficiencies than those of RoHS -compliant alternatives. For example, a cadmium QD LED 
with less than 100  ppm cadmium (RoHS -compliant) has roughly 10% greater  energy consumption 
than cadmium QD LEDs with 400 -800 ppm cadmium.  
On the question of end -of-life environmental impact, cadmium LED packages within the LED lamp 
might be disposed of together with fluorescent lamps, other non -fluorescent lamps, or other EE E in 
which they are incorporated. P arts of cadmium LED packages may also be im properly disposed of in 
household waste  or in  other  inappropriate ways . The applicant has not provided sufficient 
information about the fate of the cadmium in the material stream s.  
It can be concluded that the potential benefits in terms of energy efficiency of granting an exemption 
would not outweigh the negative impacts  of using the restricted substances. This also considers that  
the whereabouts of the remaining cadmium  from  waste EEE in the material c ycle is precarious , i.e. it 
might hamper future recycling. In light of the rapid developments  in technology in the sector, 
granting a new exemption for cadmium -containing applications in the market gives the  wrong signal 
for research and development and would run counter to policies aiming at clean material cycles . 
 
Display applications  
For display applications , RoHS -compliant alternatives exist on the device and colour -conversion 
material level for most of the established tec hnologies. For some new technologies, like micro 
displays , no market -ready cadmium -free alternatives or configuration alternatives that are as reliable 
as cadmium QD on -chip configurations currently exist. The development of such alternatives might 
take an  additional 4 -5 years, so alternatives for these specific cadmium QD applications might not be 
available until the end of 2027.  
Technologies that use on -chip configuration require in total much less cadmium per device than 
technologies using on -surface con figuration, which is still covered under the existing 
exemption  39(a) in Annex  III. This means that using less than 100  ppm of cadmium under the on -
surface configuration can result in more cadmium per device than using more than 100  ppm under 
on-chip confi gurations. Consequently, to avoid unnecessary cadmium in display applications, in 
particular for liquid crystal displays  (LCDs) , the maximum amount of cadmium per device should 
be limited under a new exemption. In this way, the positive environmental impac t of reducing the 
total amount of cadmium and the beneficial energy efficiency of the technology outweighs the 
negative impacts by a total substitution.  
It is assumed that cadmium LED packages in LED screens  would be mainly  disposed of together 
with the s creen or monitor.  However, no sufficient data were provided on the end -of-life stage. It is 
assumed that t he end -of-life of the cadmium  QD LEDs does not conform to the objectives of the 
circular economy action plan10. One problem is the risk of adverse impa cts on the environment and 
human health from  cadmium  in QD LEDs when they are not properly disposed of. The other 
problem is that recyclers do not have  established  processes that are capable of extracting and 
recycling cadmium  from LED chips . In order to m inimise the risk, Commission Regulation (EU) 
                                                 
10 COM/2020/98 final .  
EN 5  EN  2019/202111 stipulates that electronic displays with a screen panel in which concentration values of 
cadmium by weight in homogeneous materials exceed 0 .01% must  be labelled with the ‘Cadmium 
inside’ logo.  
 
Conclusions  
The technical evaluation study mentioned that g ranting an exemption for cadmium QD might have 
positive impacts on innovation, e.g. in the miniaturisation of products.  On the other hand, it could 
also potentially slow down  the development of cadmium -free alternatives  for lighting and display 
applications  on the market , and for this reason the innovation argument does not favour continued 
use of cadmium.  
The first requirement for granting an exemption is stipulated in Article 5 (1)(a)  of Directive 
2011/65/EU . According to this threshold requirement, t he use of cadmium in lighting and displays 
must  not weaken the environmental and health protection afforded by the REACH Regulation , 
mainly by authorisations and restrictions under that Regulation. An e xemption for cadmium in QD 
for LED applications does not weaken the environmental and health protection afforded by the 
REACH Regulation.  
One of the objectives of the chemicals strategy for sustainability12 is to minimise the presence of 
substances of conc ern in products, in particular in electronics, and to ensure that new materials 
should be sustainable. Granting an exemption by expanding the scope for a newly developed product 
(lighting applications in this case) containing a restricted substance would g ive the wrong signal to 
industry. Even though the industry is in general making an effort to phase out cadmium applications, 
no substitution plan was provided for the requested applications.  
In conclusion, it is not recommended to expand the scope of the e xemption as requested under 
application (a). Instead, the scope of the exemption should be limited to applications that cannot be 
replaced by cadmium -free alternatives. Consequently, the lighting applications are not to be 
included. Application (b) meets t he criteria for granting an exemption if the scope is further limited 
to certain technologies for display applications. Thus, a maximum concentration of cadmium per 
device (i.e. per display screen) will be laid down.  
According to Article 5(5), subparagraph  2 of Directive 2011/65/EU, the existing exemption remain s 
valid until a decision on the renewal application is taken by the Commission.   
3. LEGAL  ELEMENTS  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
The act amends an exemption from the substance restrictions in Annex II of Dire ctive 2011/65/EU, 
to be listed in Annex III, for cadmium -based QDs for use in display applications , by narrowing down 
its scope . The requested exemption (b) meets the second and third criterion of Article 5(1)(a). The 
reason is that, for most technologies,  substitution and elimination are technically practicable and 
reliable alternatives exist. The only exception to this is recently developed technologies which cannot 
be currently replaced with reliable alternatives. By limiting the maximum amount of cadmiu m per 
device, some display applications benefit from greater energy efficiency and the total amount of 
cadmium is reduced, which results in greater environmental benefits that outweigh the negative 
impacts caused of substitution. Thus, these technologies s hould be covered by the new exemption, 
under a new entry 39(b).  
                                                 
11 OJ L 315 5.12.2019, p. 241 . 
12 COM(2020) 667 final .  
EN 6  EN  Exemption request (a) for cadmium -based QDs for use in lighting applications  is rejected, as none of 
the conditions for justifying an exemption is met. Consequently, no corresponding entry is added. I t 
is technical ly and scientifically practica ble to manufacture reliable cadmium -free or RoHS -compliant  
QDs. Even if cadmium QDs in lighting applications might show better energy performance than 
cadmium -free or RoHS -compliant QDs, it could not be shown that this improved performance is 
significant. Thus, using cadmium QDs in lighting applications does not outweigh any such negative 
impacts of substitution. The slightly lower energy performance of compliant alternatives does not 
justify an exemption  from the substance restriction for cadmium.  
A decision on exemption request (c) became obsolete. The requested application scope includes the 
scope of the existing exemption 39(a). Due to Article 5(5) of the RoHS Directive, the application 
was temporarily  covered by exemption 39(a), but this exemption is no longer necessary having been 
requested until 31 October 2021, a date that has now passed.  
The inst rument is a delegated directive, as provided for by Directive 2011/65/EU, meeting the 
relevant requireme nts of Article 5(1)( a) thereof.  Under Article 5(6), the existing exemption in entry 
39(a) of Annex III will expire with a transition period of 18 months following the date of the  
adoption of the delegated directive . 
The objective s of the delegated directiv e are: (i)  to contribute to the protection of human health and 
the environment; and (ii) to approximate the provisions for the functioning of the single market  in the 
field of EEE. The delegated directive aims to achieve these two objectives  by allowing the use of 
otherwise banned substances for specific applications, in line with the provisions and under the 
conditions of RoHS  and the procedure laid down therein for the adaptation of Annexes  III and IV  to 
scientific and technical progress.  
According to the principle of proportionality, the measure does not go beyond what is necessary to 
achieve its objective.   
  
EN 7  EN  COMMISSION DELEGATED DIRECTIVE (EU) .../…  
of XXX  
amending Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as 
regards an exemption for cadmium in downshifting  quantum dots directly deposited on 
LED semiconductor chips  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the E uropean Union , 
Having regard to Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
8 June 2011 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and 
electronic equipment1, and in particular Article 5(1), point (a), thereof , 
Whereas:  
(1) Article 4(1) of 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) Cadmium  is a restricted substance listed in Annex II to Directive 2011/65/EU.  The 
maximum tolerated concentration value is 0 ,01% by weight of cadmium in 
homogenous materials.  
(3) By Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/19752, the Commission granted  an exemption for 
the use of cadmium selenide in downshifting semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots 
for use in display lighting applications (‘the current exemption’), which is liste d in 
entry  39(a)  of Annex III to Directive 2011/65/EU. The exemption was to expire on 31 
October 2019 . 
(4) On 29 September 2017 , 29 April 2018 and 30 April 2018 , the Commission received 
application s for amending  the current exemption  (‘the applications’) , that is within the 
time limit laid down in Article 5(5) of Directive 2011/65/EU . In accordance with  
Article 5(5), second subparagraph, of Directive 2011/65/EU, an exemption remain s 
valid until a decision on the renewal application has been  taken.  
(5) The evaluatio n of the application s, which took into account the availability of 
substitutes and the socioeconomic impact of substitution, included a technical and 
scientific assessment study3 and a follow -up study4. The evaluation also included 
                                                 
1 OJ L 174, 1.7.2011, p. 88.  
2  Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/1975 of 7 August 2017 amending, for the purposes of 
adapting to scientific and technical progress, Annex III to Directive 2011/65/EU of the European 
Parliament and of the Council as regards an exemption for cadmium in colour converting light -emitting 
diodes (LEDs) for use in display systems (OJ L 281, 31.10.2017, p. 29).  
3  Assessing  three exemption requests for the use of cadmium in quantum dot applications in displays and 
lighting – Study to support the review of the list of restricted substances and to assess a new exemption 
  
EN 8  EN  stakeholder consultation s 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.  
(6) The current exemption does not distinguish between different configurations regarding 
the way the cadmium -based material is embedded in the quantum dot. The evaluation 
found that applications with the so -called on -edge and on -surface configuration s no 
longer meet the conditions set out  in Article 5(1) , point (a), of Directive 2011/65/EU . 
The so-called on-chip configuration requires the lowest amount of cadmium and 
shows better performance levels.  
(7) The evaluation further concluded that alternatives to ‘on-chip’ technology applicable 
in lighting applications  are currently available  that are reliable and that achieve similar 
performance levels. For those applications, the evaluation  concluded that the benefits 
of an exemption  would not outweigh the negative  environmental, health and consumer 
safety  impacts thereof . The conditions set out in Article 5(1), point (a) , of Directive 
2011/65/EU are  therefore  not met  for the ‘on -chip’ technology applicable in lighting 
applications .  
(8) The evaluation further concluded that many alternatives  to ‘on-chip’ technology 
applicable in display applications  are currently available , however, for some specific 
technologies , such as  micro  display s, no reliable alternative  currently exists . For those 
specific display applications,  even though substitutes are under development,  the 
condition set out  in Article 5(1), point (a), second indent,  of Directive 2011/65/EU  is 
met, namely that t he reliability of substitutes is not ensured.  
(9) ‘On-chip’ configuration can also result in less cadmium per device , in particular for 
liquid crystal displays,  compared to ‘on -surfa ce’ configuration s, which uses less than 
0,01 % by weight of cadmium in homogenous material. Due to greater energy 
efficiency and lower use of total cadmium, the environmental benefits outweigh the 
total negative  environmental, health and consumer safety  impacts caused by a 
substitution  of cadmium . The limited scope of the exemption sought in the 
application s, in the form of a maximum concentration of cadmium per device , would  
ensure that less cadmium  is placed on the market than under  the current exemption . 
The condition set out  in Article 5(1) , point (a), third indent, of Directive 2011/65/EU  
is therefore fulfilled. The  exemption is consistent with Regulation (EC)  No 1907/2006 
of the European Parliament and of the Council5 and does not weaken the 
environme ntal and health protection afforded by  it. 
(10) It is therefore appropriate to grant the exemption  for cadmium in downshifting 
semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots directly deposited on LED semiconductor 
                                                                                                                                                         
request under RoHS (RoHS Pack 15 - Task 5, final), Novemb er 2020 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication -detail/ -/publication/afa12b2f -5a0a -11eb -b59f-
01aa75ed71a1/lang uage -en/format -PDF/source -187695217  . 
4  Study to update the information on the use of cadmium in quantum dot applications for displays and 
lighting under Directive 2011/65/EU Final Report, November 2022 https://op.europa.eu/en/publication -
detail/ -/publication/ac232efe -76ad -11ed -9887 -01aa75ed71a1/language -en/format -PDF/source -
277797051   
5 Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 
concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), 
establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45 /EC and repealing Council 
Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council 
Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 
2000/21/EC  (OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p. 1).   
EN 9  EN  chips for use in display and projection applications . It is expected that alternatives for 
those cadmium quantum dot applications might be  available by the end of 2027 . Both 
positive effects on innovations (e.g. miniaturisation) as well as negative effects on 
innovation (e.g. fewer incentives for the developme nt of cadmium free alternatives) 
are taken into account here.  It is therefore  appropriate to limit the duration of the 
exemption until th at date  in accordance with Article 5(2)  of Directive 2011/65/EU . 
(11) An expiry date for the current exemption should be set in accordance with Article 5(6) 
of Directive 2011/65/EU. In order to allow sufficient time for industry and in view of 
global supply chains for such products , it is appropriate to set the maximum possi ble 
expiry date of 18 months following the decision for the current exemption.  
(12) Directive 2011/65 /EU should therefore be amended accordingly,  
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:  
Article 1  
Annex I II to Directive 2011/65/EU is amended as set out in the Annex to this Directive.  
Article 2 
1. Member States shall adopt and publish by [OP: please insert the last day of the 
6th month after the date of entry into force of this Directive ] at the latest , the laws, 
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with  this Directive . 
They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions.  
They shall apply those provisions from [OP: please insert the last day of the 6th month 
after the date of entry into force of this Directive + 1 day] . 
When Me mber States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this 
Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official 
publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.  
2. Member States shall  communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions 
of national law, which  they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.  
Article 3 
This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth  day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union . 
Article 4 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.  
Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission  
 The President  
 Ursula von der Leyen