EN   EN 
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2021) XXX  draft  
 
COMMISSION DELEGATED DIRECTIVE (EU) .../…  
of XXX  
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 the use of mercury in double -capped linear fluorescent lamps for genera l 
lighting purposes  
(Text with EEA relevance)   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 III 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  (recast)1 (the RoHS  Directive ). The amendment con cerns  specifi ed 
applications containing mercury  in double -capped linear fluorescent lamps for general 
lighting purposes . 
The RoHS Directive restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and 
electronic equipment  (EEE), as specified in Article 4.  Ten substances are currently restricted 
and listed in Annex II to the Directive : lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, 
polybrominated biphenyls  (PBB) , polybrominated diphenyl ethers  (PBDE),  bis (2-ethylhexyl) 
phthalate (DEHP), butyl benzy l phthalate  (BBP), dibutyl phtha late (DBP) and diisobutyl 
phthalate (DIBP). Annexes III and IV list EEE materials and components for specific 
applications that are exempt from the substance restriction s laid down in Article 4(1).  
Article 5 of the Directive  provides for the adaptation of Annexes III and IV to scientific and 
technical progress, which can include granting, renewing or revoking exemptions. Pursuant to 
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 
(REACH)2 and only if they meet any of the following conditions: (i) elimination or 
substituting the substance via design changes or materials and components which do not 
require any of the materials or substances listed in Annex II is scientifically or technically 
impracticable; (ii) the reliability of substitutes is not ensured; (iii) the total negative 
environmental, health and consumer safety impacts caused by substituti ng the substance are 
likely to outweigh the total environmental, health and consumer safety benefits thereof.  
Decisions on exemptions, and their duration, must also take into account the availability of 
substitutes and the socioeconomic impact of substitution.  Decisions on the duration of 
exemptions must take into account any potential impact on innovation. A life-cycle approach 
to assess the overall impacts of the exemption must be taken , where relevant.   
Article 5(1) also states  that to include , or, where applicable, delete,  materials and components 
of EEE for specific appli cations in the lists of Annexes  III and IV, the Commission must 
adopt individual delegated acts.  Article 5(3) and Annex V describe the procedure for 
submitting exemption -relate d applications.  
 
2. CONSULTATIONS  PRIOR  TO THE  ADOPTION  OF THE  ACT  
The Commission receive d requests3 from economic operators to grant or renew exemptions 
under  Article 5(3) and Annex V to the RoHS  Directive . 
The current Annex III exemption 2(a) entries (1) to (5) permit  the use of m ercury in double -
capped linear fluorescent lamps for general lighting pu rposes not exceeding the following 
values (per lamp) :  
                                                 
1 OJ L 174,  1.7.2011, p. 88.  
2 OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 
3 The list is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/rohs_eee/adaptation_en.htm . EN 2  EN 2(a) (1) Tri -band phosphor with  normal lifetime and a tube diameter  < 9 mm (e.g. T2): 4 mg; 
2(a) (2) Tri-band phosphor with normal lifetime and a tube diameter ≥ 9  mm and ≤ 17  mm 
(e.g. T5): 3 mg;  
2(a) (3) Tri -band phosphor with normal lifetime and a tube diameter > 17  mm and ≤ 28  mm 
(e.g. T8): 3,5 mg;  
2(a) (4) Tri -band phosphor with normal lifetime and a tube diameter > 28  mm (e.g. T12): 
3,5 mg;  
2(a) (5) Tri -band phosphor with long lifetime (≥ 25 000 h ): 5 mg. 
The Commission received two application s to renew this exemption in December 2014 and 
January 2015.  One of the applications was renewed with additional information  in January 
2020. The applicants in essence claimed that substitutes for all the applications in question  
were not available . One applicant stated that, although mercury -free light -emitting diode 
(LED) alternatives  were increasingly a vailable on the EU market , they cannot always serve as 
a fully compatible replacement for the wide  variety of LFL lamps for  consumers and 
professional end  users.4 The other applicant argued along the same lines.5 
In line with the requirements of the RoHS D irective (Article 5(5) , second subparagraph ), an 
exemption remains valid  until the Commission takes  a decision on the renewal application.  
To evaluat e the application s to renew that exemption, the Commission launched a study  in 
June 20156, concluded in 2016, to carry out the required technical and scientific assessment, 
including an eight -week online stakeholder consultation.7 Further  to th at study assessing the 
extensive technical and scientific data and contributions received, as documented in the stud y 
report, the Commission carried out two complementary studies/ updates , including stakeholder 
involvement. The s tudy published  in 20198 focused on the socioeconomic assessment  and on 
the availability of substitutes , whilst an update based on recent figures  and modelling  was 
carried out in 20209. The final reports of the study and of the socioeconomic assessment 
updates were published10; stakeholders were notified.  
The Commission consulted the Member State expert group for delegated acts under the RoHS 
Directive during the expert meetings of 1 September  2016, 29  October  2018  and 
21 October  2019.  In July 2020, the Commission also informed the Member State expert group  
via written consultation of the 2020 socioeconomic update  and collected  the Member States’ 
positions on a proposed course of action. It carried out a ll the requisite  procedural steps 
                                                 
4 http://rohs.exemptions.oeko.info/fileadmin/user_upload/RoHS_Pack_9/Exemption_2_a__15_/  
Lighting_Europe/2a1_LE_RoHS_Exemption__Req_Final.pdf  
5 http://rohs.exemptions.oeko.info/fileadmin/user_upload/RoHS_Pack_9/Exemption_2_a__15_/  
NARVA/01_02_a__2b3_4a.pdf  
6 The final report of the study is available at https://op.europa.eu/en/publication -detail/ -
/publication/a3fdcc8c -4273 -11e6 -af30-01aa75ed71a1 . 
7 Consultation period: 21 August 2015 to 16 October 2015, http://rohs.exemptions.oeko.info . 
8 https://rohs.exemptions.oeko.info/fileadmin/user_upload/reports/FWCW_RoHS_Lamps_SEA_  
20190729_Final.pdf  
9 https://op.europa.eu/en/publication -detail/ -/publication/f44f2383 -dd0a -11ea -adf7-01aa75ed71a1/language -
en/format -PDF/source -146144383 , starting on page 92.  
10 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/rohs_eee/studies_rohs1_en.htm .  EN 3  EN relating to exemptions from the substance s restriction under Article 5(3 ) to 5(7).11 The 
Council and the European Parliament were notified of all activities.  
The supporting study  highlighted the following technical information and assessment s: 
 The 2015 -2016 study concluded that reliable mercury -free substitutes are available 
on the European Union market. The study provided ample evidence that substitutin g 
mercury in the lamp categories covered by the exemption is scientifically and 
technically practicable.  
 The 2019 and 2020 study updates focused on the availability of substitutes and the 
socioeconomic impact of substitution. The updates  revealed  that the total costs of 
substitution largely depend on the share of lamps available on the market as 
replacements and that the substitution costs would be relatively quickly offset by 
benefits generated by related energy savings. The 2020 socioeconomic assessment 
update showed that , overall,  substitutin g mercury with LED alternatives in the lamp 
categories under assessment would avoid  placing 2882  kg of mercury in lamps on the 
EU market.12 Overall, the  premature generation of e -waste due to the need to rewir e 
and replace lamp s for certain lamp categories w ould be offset  both by avoiding the 
use of mercury in the future and by generating substantial en ergy savings .13 In 
conclusion, the scientific and technical assessments, including stakeholder 
consultations, detailed that none of the exemption criteria are now  met with regard to 
exemption 2(a)(1) to (5). The availability of substitutes has furthermore been 
documented and calculations based on the socioeconomic impact of substitution have 
shown to result in overall  savings and in total environmental, health and consumer 
safety benefits.  
In conclusion, the scientific and technical assessments, including s takeholder consultations, 
detailed that none of the exemption criteria are now met with regard to exemption 2(a)(1) to 
(5). The availability of substitutes has been documented and calculations based on the 
socioeconomic impact of substitution have shown to  result in overall savings and in 
environmental, hea lth and consumer safety benefit . 
3. LEGAL  ELEMENTS  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
On the basis of Article 5(1), t he delegated directive revokes  exemption 2(a) entries (1) to ( 5) 
listed in Annex III to Directive  2011/65/EU for the use of  mercury in specifi ed applications.   
The Commission’s assessment , based on the supporting studies and consultations , concluded 
that the exemption request does not meet any of the criteria laid down in Article 5(1)(a)  of the 
RoHS Di rective  that justify extending the exemption: mercury can be substitut ed with reliable 
substitutes in the lamp categories covered by this exemption , this being  scientifically and 
technically practicable, and evidence is provided that the total impact of su bstitution in 
environmental, health and consumer safety impacts largely outweigh any negative impacts . 
Substitution would not only avoid  placing considerable quantities of mercury on the EU 
                                                 
11 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://webgate.ec.europa.eu/regdel/#/home . 
12 The 2020 socioeconomic assessment update included compact fluorescen t lamps non -integrated (CFLni),  
linear fluorescent lamps with a tube diameter 9 -17 mm (e.g. T5) and 17 -28 mm (e.g.  T8). 
13 Idem.  EN 4  EN market, but would also generate  energy savings and stimulate innovation14. This assessment 
results from the most recent technical and scientific evidence and updated market information  
included in the above -mentioned supporting  studies.  In summary, the conditions for the 
exemption are no longer fulfilled, and entries  2(a)(1) to (5) are to be deleted, in accordance 
with Article 5 (1)(b).  
The expiry date for this exemption is set in line with Article 5(6) of the RoHS Directive  which 
prescribes that, in the event an exemption is revoked, it shall expire at the earliest 1 2 months, 
and at the latest 18 months, after the date of that decision. For exemption 2(a) entries (1), (4) 
and (5), t here are no particular elements that would justify setting a longer date than the 
earliest expiry date, 12 months after the date of the de cision.  For exemption entries 2(a)  (2) 
(“T5 LFL lamps”) and (3) (“T8 LFL lamps”), however, a transition time of  18 months is 
proposed . This  is the maximum possible transition period for a decision that revokes an 
exemption based on  the assessment against the RoHS criteria and giving full consideration to 
the less advanced availability of substitutes  and to the socioeconomic impact of substitution. 
Granting the maximum transition period possible also reflects the fact that this exemption 
applies to a high volume  of lamps, and gives enough time to make the  necessary arrangements 
for new mercury -containing lamps that may not be placed on the EU market after the expiry 
date. 
The legal instrument is a delegated directive, which is in line with the enabling legal act, 
Directive 2011/65/EU, in particular with the delegation set out in Article s 5(1) and 20 there of. 
In line with common practice regarding delegated directives relating to RoHS exemptions, it 
sets a timeframe  of six months after entry into force .  
The objective of the delegated directive  is to contribute to the protection of human health and 
the environment and to align the provisions for the functioning of the internal market in the 
field of electrical a nd electronic equipment , by revoking an exemption  for the use of 
otherwise banned substances for specific applications, with the provisions and under the 
conditions of the RoHS  Directive and the procedure for adapt ing Annexes  III and IV  to 
scientific and technical progress.  
The delegated directive  has no implications on the EU budget.  
                                                 
14 The products in scope are also regulated by Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2020 of 1 October 2019 
laying down ecodesign requirements for light sources and separate control gears that applies from 1 
September 2021. Differently from Directiv e 2011/65/EU, the ecodesign legislation does not restrict 
substances in products but sets energy efficiency requirements to be respected in order for the products 
to be placed on the market. CFL with integrated control gear (CFLi) will not de facto  be plac ed on the 
market from 1 September 2021 due to their non -compliance with these energy efficiency requirements . 
Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2020 identifies mercury content as a significant e nvironmental 
aspect in the life cycle of a light source, but ackn owledges that the use of hazardous substances, 
including mercury in light sources, is governed by Directive 2011/65/EU.   EN 5  EN COMMISSION DELEGATED DIRECTIVE (EU) .../…  
of XXX  
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 the use of mercury in double -capped linear fluorescent lamps for general 
lighting purposes  
(Text with EEA relevan ce) 
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union , 
Having regard to Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Par liament 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 (b), thereof,  
Whereas:  
(1) Directive 2011/65/EU requires Member States to ensure that electrical and electronic 
equipment placed on the market does not contain the  hazard ous substances  listed in 
Annex II to that Directive. That restriction  does not apply to certain exempted  
applications , which are listed in Annex  III to the Directive.  
(2) The categories of electrical and electronic equipment to which Directive 2011/65/EU 
appli es 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/EU2, the Commission granted, among other things , an 
exemption for the use of m ercury in double -capped linear flu orescent lamps for 
general lighting purposes  (‘the exemption’) , which is now listed as  exemption  2(a)(1), 
2(a)(2), 2(a)(3), 2(a)(4) and 2(a)(5)  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) Mercury is used in double -capped linear fluorescent lamps for general lighting 
purposes to  produce ultraviolet light, which is then converted into visible light by the 
fluorescent coating on the lamp .  
(6) On 19 December 2014 and 15 January 2015 , the Commission received two 
application s for renewal of the exemption  (‘the renewal applications’) , that is within 
the time limit laid down in Article 5(5) of Directive 2011/65/EU , of which one was 
updated with a renewed application  on 20  January 2020 . In accordance with Article 
                                                 
1 OJ L 174, 1.7.2011, p. 88.  
2 Commission Decision 2010/571/EU of 24  September 2010 amending, for the purposes of adapting to 
scientifi c and technical progress, the Annex to Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of 
the Council as regards exemptions for applications containing lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent 
chromium, polybrominated biphenyls or polybrominated diphenyl eth ers (OJ L 251, 25.9.2010, p. 28).  EN 6  EN 5(5), second  subparagraph , of Directive 2011/65/EU , the exemption remains valid 
until a decision on the renewal  application  has been taken . 
(7) The evaluation of the renewal applications , which took into account the availability of 
substitutes and the socioeconomic impact of substitution, concluded that sufficient ly 
reliab le mercury -free substitutes for the lamp  types  covered by the exemption have 
become  available  and that the substitutio n of mercury in these lamps  is scientifically 
and technically practicable . Furthermore, that evaluation concluded  that the benefits of 
substitution will clearly outweigh any negative  impact .  
(8) The evaluation  of the renewal application s 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.  
(9) As the conditions set out in Article 5(1), point (a), of Directive 2011/65/EU are n o 
longer fulfilled, the renewal application should be rejected.  Expiry dates for the 
exemption should be set in accordance with Article 5(6) of that Directive.  
(10) Directive 2011/65/EU should t herefore be amended accordingly , 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:  
Article 1  
Annex III 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 [the last day of the sixth  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 [the last day of the sixth  month after the date 
of entry into force of this Directive + 1 day ]. 
When Member 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 Sta tes 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 Directiv e 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.  EN 7  EN Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission  
 Ursula VON DER LEYEN  
 The President