The EU Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted the RoHS Directive in January 2003, the full name of which is The?Restriction?of?the use of certain?Hazardous?substances?in Electrical and Electronic Equipment,
i.e. the Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment Directive, also known as Directive 2002/95/EC. p>
The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, also known as Directive 2002/95/EC, was supplemented by the European Union in 2005 in the form of Resolution 2005/618/EC, which specifies maximum limits for six hazardous substances.
On January 3, 2013, the original RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC will be repealed, and all EU countries will have to update the new Directive 2011/65/EU (RoHS 2.0) into their local laws by January 2, 2013. The new RoHS test standard is still EN62321 test version updated to EN62321:2012.
Extended information;
EU RoHS and WEEE Directives 2008 Update
On March 19th and 20th, 2008, the European Union published a number of amendments to the Directives in the Official Journal. On March 19 and 20, 2008, the European Union published in the Official Journal a number of revised directives, including the Batteries, Energy-Consuming Products, Waste from End-of-Life Vehicles, Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), and Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directives. The amendments give the European Commission a number of enforcement powers, which should be of particular interest to manufacturers exporting electrical and electronic equipment to the EU, as they will give an indication of the measures the EU may take in the future.
Directive 2008/34/EC amending Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE Directive) allows the Commission to amend the Annex to the WEEE Directive to include provisions on treatment technologies.
The EC may amend the WEEE Directive in response to advances in science and technology to include household lighting equipment, filament bulbs and photovoltaic products (e.g. solar panels) in the list of products covered by the WEEE Directive. Directive 2008/34/EC stipulates that the EC must consult the industry before amending the Annex.