EN    EN  
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION 
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2014) XXX  draft 
  
COMMISSION DELEGATED DIRECTIVE ../…/EU 
of XXX  
amending, for the purposes of adapting to technical progress, Annex IV to Directive 
2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards an exemption for 
mercury in cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) for back-lighting liquid crystal 
displays, not exceeding 5 mg per lamp, used  in industrial monitoring and control 
instruments placed on the ma rket before 22 July 2017. 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
  
EN 2   EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM  
1. CONTEXT  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT 
Subject: Commission Delegated Directive amending, for the purposes of ad apting to technical 
progress, Annex IV of the Directive 2011/65/EU  of the European Parliament and of the 
Council as regards an exemption fo r applications containing mercury. 
Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parl iament and of the C ouncil of 8 June 2011 
(RoHS 2) restricts the use of certain h azardous substances (lead, mercury, cadmium, 
hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphe nyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers) in 
electrical and electronic equi pment. RoHS 2 (recast) entered into force on 21 July 2011. 
RoHS 2 Annexes III and IV list exemptions of  materials and components from the RoHS 2 
substance restrictions. Article  5 provides for the adaptation (inclusion and deletion of 
exemptions) of the Annexes to scientific and technical progress. Pursuant to Article 5, 
exemptions shall be included in Annexes III and IV, provided that such inclusion does not 
weaken the environmental and health protect ion afforded by Regul ation (EC) No 1907/2006 
and where any of the following conditions is fulfilled: their elimination or substitution via design changes or materials an d components which do not require  any of the materials or 
substances listed in Annex II is scientifically or technically impracticable; the reliability of substitutes is not ensured; or the total negativ e environmental, health  and consumer safety 
impacts caused by substitution are likely to outw eigh the total environmental, health and 
consumer safety benefits thereof. 
RoHS 2 Article 5 establishes a procedure for th e adaption of the Annexes to scientific and 
technical progress. RoHS 2 Article 5(1)(a) provides that the Commission shall include 
materials and components of EEE fo r specific applicati ons in the lists in Annexes III and IV 
by means of individual delegated acts.  
2. CONSULTATIONS
 PRIOR  TO THE  ADOPTION  OF THE  ACT 
In line with the provisions for granting, re newing or revoking an exemption, which allow 
stakeholders to apply for an exemption from th e substance restrictions (Article 5(3)), the 
Commission has received more th an 40 requests for new exemptions since the publication of 
RoHS 2. With a view to the evaluation of  the requested exemptions, the Commission 
commissioned a study and carried out the re quisite technical and scientific assessment 
including an official stakeholder consultation.1 The final study is available on the consultants' 
webpage; stakeholders and Me mber States were notified.2 The project page is accessible via 
the DG Environment webpage.  
Subsequently, the Commission consulted the o fficial expert group fo r delegated acts under 
RoHS 2. A meeting with consultants and e xperts was held on 28 June 2013, a consolidated 
recommendation with all necessary background information was sent out on 20 September 2013 and experts were invited to comment on the proposal by 15 November 2013. The expert group unanimously supported the proposal. Only one  expert commented on a technical detail. 
All necessary steps pursuant to Article 5(3)  to (7) have been performed. Council and 
Parliament were notified of all activities. 
                                                
 
1 The consultation list is regularly updated and maintained by the consultants in cooperation with the 
Commission, and includes electronics related industry organisations, manufacturers and suppliers, 
recyclers, consumer associations, NGOs, acad emia, Member States' representatives, etc. 
2 http://rohs.exemptions.oeko.info/fileadmin/user_ upload/RoHS_VIII/RoHS2_Pack3_Final_Report.pdf  
(pages 90-106).  
EN 3   EN Technical background information (for fu rther information see footnote 2): 
Industrial monitoring and control instruments (I MCIs) will have to comply with the RoHS 
limit values from 22 July 2017. Many IMCIs are equipped with back-lighting liquid crystal 
displays (LCD) that require th e use of cold cathode fluore scent lamps (CCFLs) with 5mg 
mercury. Replacing the lamps for these displays with mercury-free or low-mercury substitutes is technically impracticable, as it would require technical adapta tions and might even lead to 
malfunction. The continued use of these lamps for prolonging the life of devices placed on the 
market prior to their RoHS comp liance date (22 July 2017) is in  line with Article 5(1)(a) 3
rd 
indent, as the total negative environmental, health and consumer safety impacts caused by 
substitution are likely to outweigh the total environmental, health and consumer safety 
benefits thereof. Whereas health and consumer  safety impacts are neutral, environmental 
impacts support an exemption from the substan ce restriction in order to avoid unnecessary 
waste production and the ecological footprin t of the production of new displays and 
equipment. 
To enable the repair and prolong the service life of IMCIs, an exemption from the restriction 
of mercury in CCFLs for back-lighting LCDs in  IMCIs should be granted. In accordance with 
the repair-as-produced principle of Article 4(4), the exemption should be granted with the 
maximum validity period pursuant to Article 5(2) from the specific Article 4(3) compliance date, which is until 21 July 2024. As the exempti on only applies to produc ts that already use 
this type of lamps and these products may only be placed on the market until 21 July 2017, it 
is unlikely that an exemption wi ll have adverse impacts on innovation. 
The specific exemption does not weaken the envi ronmental and health protection afforded by 
Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH). 
3. LEGAL
 ELEMENTS  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT 
The proposed act grants an exemption from the s ubstance restrictions in  Annex II of Directive 
2011/65/EU (RoHS 2), to be listed in Annex IV, for the use of mercury in specific 
applications. 
The proposed instrument is  a delegated directive. 
The draft delegated directive implements Di rective 2011/65/EU, and in  particular Article 
5(1)(a) thereof. 
The objective of the proposed act is to ensu re legal certainty and sustainable market 
conditions for electronic  manufacturers, by allowing specific applications of otherwise banned 
substances in line with the provisions of RoHS 2 and the therein established procedure for the 
adaption of the Annexes to scie ntific and technical progress. 
In accordance with the principle of proportiona lity, the measure does not go beyond what is 
necessary to achieve its objective. 
The proposal has no implications for the EU budget.  
EN 4   EN COMMISSION DELEGATED DIRECTIVE ../…/EU 
of XXX  
amending, for the purposes of adapting to technical progress, Annex IV to Directive 
2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of  the Council as regards an exemption for 
mercury in cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) for back-lighting liquid crystal 
displays, not exceeding 5 mg per lamp, used  in industrial monitoring and control 
instruments placed on the market before 22 July 2017. 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Directive 2011/65/EU of the Eu ropean Parliament and of the Council of 8 
June 2011 on the restriction of the use of cert ain hazardous substances in electrical and 
electronic equipment,
3 and in particular Article 5(1)(a) thereof, 
Whereas: (1) Directive 2011/65/EU prohibits  the use of mercury in el ectrical and electronic 
equipment placed on the market.  
(2) Many industrial monitoring and control instruments (IMCIs ) are equipped with back-
lighting liquid crystal displays  that require the use of co ld cathode fluorescent lamps 
(CCFLs) with 5mg mercury. The total negati ve environmental, health and consumer 
safety impacts caused by substitution of  mercury containing CCFLs in industrial 
monitoring and control instruments are likel y to outweigh the total environmental, 
health and consumer safety benefits thereof. 
(3) To enable the repair and prolong the servic e life of products, an exemption from the 
restriction of mercury in CCFLs for back-l ighting liquid crystal displays in IMCIs 
should be granted. In accordance with the repair-as-produced principle, the exemption 
should apply to all products placed on the market before 22 July 2017, which is the 
compliance date for IMCIs, and the validity period of the exemption should be 7 years 
from that date. It is unlikely that the exemption will have adverse impacts on 
innovation. 
(4) Directive 2011/65/EU should therefore be amended accordingly, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:  
Article 1 
Annex IV to Directive 2011/65/EU is amended as  set out in the Annex to this Directive. 
                                                
 
3 OJ L 174, 1.7.2011, p. 88.   
EN 5   EN Article 2 
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative 
provisions necessary to comply with this Di rective by the last day of the sixth month 
after entry into force at the latest. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions. 
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 States shall determin e 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 tw entieth 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   José Manuel BARROSO