2006/690/EC: Commission Decision of 12 October 2006 amending, for the purposes of adapting to technical progress, the Annex to Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards exemptions for applications of lead in crystal glass (notified under document number C(2006) 4789)   (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2006-10-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: dangerous substance, derogation from EU law, electrical equipment, electronic equipment, lead, lighting equipment, marketing

14.10.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 283/47

COMMISSION DECISION

of 12 October 2006

amending, for the purposes of adapting to technical progress, the Annex to Directive 2002/95/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council as regards exemptions for applications of lead in crystal
glass

(notified under document number C(2006) 4789)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2006/690/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

the European
Having regard to Directive 2002/95/EC of
Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on the
restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in elec-
trical and electronic equipment (1), and in particular Article
5(1)(b) thereof,

(5)

(6)

(7)

Directive 2002/95/EC should therefore be amended
accordingly.

Pursuant to Article 5(2) of Directive 2002/95/EC, the
Commission has consulted the relevant parties.

in this Decision are in
The measures provided for
accordance with the opinion of
the Committee esta-
blished by Article 18 of Directive 2006/12/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council (3),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Directive 2002/95/EC requires
evaluate
pursuant to Article 4(1) of that Directive.

hazardous

certain

the Commission to
prohibited

substances

the laws of

Crystal glass has been progressively used for decorative
purposes on electrical and electronic equipment. Since
Council Directive 69/493/EEC of 15 December 1969
on the approximation of
the Member
States relating to crystal glass (2) prescribes the amount
of lead to be present in crystal glass and the substitution
of lead in crystal glass is therefore technically imprac-
ticable, the use of this hazardous substance in specific
materials and components covered by that Directive is
unavoidable. Those materials and components should be
therefore exempted from the prohibition.

Some exemptions
from the prohibition for certain
specific materials or components should be limited in
their scope, in order to achieve a gradual phase-out of
hazardous
electronic
equipment, given that the use of those substances in
such applications will become avoidable.

substances

electrical

and

in

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

In the Annex to Directive 2002/95/EC the following point 29 is
added:

‘29. Lead bound in crystal glass as defined in Annex I (Cate-
gories 1, 2, 3 and 4) of Council Directive 69/493/EEC (*).

___________
(*) OJ L 326, 29.12.1969, p. 36. Directive as last amended by

2003 Act of Accession.’

Article 2

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 12 October 2006.

Pursuant to Article 5(1)(c) of Directive 2002/95/EC each
exemption listed in the Annex must be subject to a
review at least every four years or four years after an
item is added to the list.

For the Commission

Stavros DIMAS
Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 37, 13.2.2003, p. 19. Directive as

last amended by
Commission Decision 2006/310/EC (OJ L 115, 28.4.2006, p. 38).
(2) OJ L 326, 29.12.1969, p. 36. Directive as last amended by 2003

Act of Accession.

(3) OJ L 114, 27.4.2006, p. 9.