This Directive lays down rules on the restriction of the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) with a view to contributing to the protection of human health and the environment, including the environmentally sound recovery and disposal of waste EEE.

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply:

1. (1)

   ‘electrical and electronic equipment’ or ‘EEE’ means equipment which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly and equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields and designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1 000 volts for alternating current and 1 500 volts for direct current;

2. (2)

   for the purposes of point 1, ‘dependent ‘ means, with regard to EEE, needing electric currents or electromagnetic fields to fulfil at least one intended function;

3. (3)

   ‘large-scale stationary industrial tools’ means a large-scale assembly of machines, equipment, and/or components, functioning together for a specific application, permanently installed and de-installed by professionals at a given place, and used and maintained by professionals in an industrial manufacturing facility or research and development facility;

4. (4)

   ‘large-scale fixed installation’ means a large-scale combination of several types of apparatus and, where applicable, other devices, which are assembled and installed by professionals, intended to be used permanently in a pre-defined and dedicated location, and de-installed by professionals;

5. (5)

   ‘cables’ means all cables with a rated voltage of less than 250 volts that serve as a connection or an extension to connect EEE to the electrical outlet or to connect two or more EEE to each other;

6. (6)

   ‘manufacturer’ means any natural or legal person who manufactures an EEE or who has an EEE designed or manufactured and markets it under his name or trademark;

7. (7)

   ‘authorised representative’ means any natural or legal person established within the Union who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on his behalf in relation to specified tasks;

8. (8)

   ‘distributor’ means any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes an EEE available on the market;

9. (9)

   ‘importer’ means any natural or legal person established within the Union, who places an EEE from a third country on the Union market;

10. (10)

    ‘economic operators’ means the manufacturer, the authorised representative, the importer and the distributor;

11. (11)

    ‘making available on the market’ means any supply of an EEE for distribution, consumption or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge;

12. (12)

    ‘placing on the market’ means making available an EEE on the Union market for the first time;

13. (13)
    ‘harmonised standard’ means a standard adopted by one of the European standardisation bodies listed in Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society services19 on the basis of a request made by the Commission in accordance with Article 6 of Directive 98/34/EC;
14. (14)

    ‘technical specification’ means a document that prescribes technical requirements to be fulfilled by a product, process or service;

15. (15)

    ‘CE marking’ means a marking by which the manufacturer indicates that the product is in conformity with the applicable requirements set out in Union harmonisation legislation providing for its affixing;

16. (16)

    ‘conformity assessment’ means the process demonstrating whether the requirements of this Directive relating to an EEE, are met;

17. (17)

    ‘market surveillance’ means the activities carried out and measures taken by public authorities to ensure that EEE complies with the requirements set out in this Directive and does not endanger health, safety or other issues of public interest protection;

18. (18)

    ‘recall’ means any measure aimed at achieving the return of a product that has already been made available to the end user;

19. (19)

    ‘withdrawal’ means any measure aimed at preventing a product in the supply chain from being made available on the market;

20. (20)

    ‘homogeneous material’ means one material of uniform composition throughout or a material, consisting of a combination of materials, that cannot be disjointed or separated into different materials by mechanical actions such as unscrewing, cutting, crushing, grinding and abrasive processes;

21. (21)

    ‘medical device’ means a medical device within the meaning of point (a) of Article 1(2) of Directive 93/42/EEC and which is also EEE;

22. (22)

    ‘in vitro diagnostic medical device’ means an in vitro diagnostic medical device within the meaning of point (b) of Article 1(2) of Directive 98/79/EC;

23. (23)
    ‘active implantable medical device’ means any active implantable medical device within the meaning of point (c) of Article 1(2) of Council Directive 90/385/EEC of 20 June 1990 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to active implantable medical devices20;
24. (24)

    ‘industrial monitoring and control instruments’ means monitoring and control instruments designed for exclusively industrial or professional use;

25. (25)

    ‘availability of a substitute’ means the ability of a substitute to be manufactured and delivered within a reasonable period of time as compared with the time required for manufacturing and delivering the substances listed in Annex II;

26. (26)

    ‘reliability of a substitute’ means the probability that an EEE using a substitute will perform a required function without failure under stated conditions for a stated period of time;

27. (27)

    ‘spare part’ means a separate part of an EEE that can replace a part of an EEE. The EEE cannot function as intended without that part of the EEE. The functionality of EEE is restored or is upgraded when the part is replaced by a spare part;

28. (28)

    ‘non-road mobile machinery made available exclusively for professional use’ means machinery, with an on-board power source, the operation of which requires either mobility or continuous or semi-continuous movement between a succession of fixed working locations while working, and is made available exclusively for professional use.

Member States shall ensure that:

1. (a)

   when placing EEE on the market, manufacturers ensure that it has been designed and manufactured in accordance with the requirements set out in Article 4;

2. (b)

   manufacturers draw up the required technical documentation and carry out the internal production control procedure in line with module A of Annex II to Decision No 768/2008/EC or have it carried out;

3. (c)

   where compliance of EEE with the applicable requirements has been demonstrated by the procedure referred to in point (b), manufacturers draw up an EU declaration of conformity and affix the CE marking on the finished product. Where other applicable Union legislation requires the application of a conformity assessment procedure which is at least as stringent, compliance with the requirements of Article 4(1) of this Directive may be demonstrated within the context of that procedure. A single technical documentation may be drawn up;

4. (d)

   manufacturers keep the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity for 10 years after the EEE has been placed on the market;

5. (e)

   manufacturers ensure that procedures are in place for series production to remain in conformity. Changes in product design or characteristics and changes in the harmonised standards or in technical specifications by reference to which conformity of EEE is declared shall be adequately taken into account;

6. (f)

   manufacturers keep a register of non-conforming EEE and product recalls, and keep distributors informed thereof;

7. (g)

   manufacturers ensure that their EEE bears a type, batch or serial number or other element allowing its identification, or, where the size or nature of the EEE does not allow it, that the required information is provided on the packaging or in a document accompanying the EEE;

8. (h)

   manufacturers indicate their name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and the address at which they can be contacted on the EEE or, where that is not possible, on its packaging or in a document accompanying the EEE. The address must indicate a single point at which the manufacturer can be contacted. Where other applicable Union legislation contains provisions for the affixing of the manufacturer’s name and address which are at least as stringent, those provisions shall apply;

9. (i)

   manufacturers who consider or have reason to believe that EEE which they have placed on the market is not in conformity with this Directive immediately take the necessary corrective measures to bring that EEE into conformity, to withdraw it or recall it, if appropriate, and immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States in which they made the EEE available to that effect, giving details, in particular, of the non-compliance and of any corrective measures taken;

10. (j)

    manufacturers, further to a reasoned request from a competent national authority, provide it with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of the EEE with this Directive, in a language which can be easily understood by that authority, and that they cooperate with that authority, at its request, on any action taken to ensure compliance with this Directive of EEE which they have placed on the market.

Member States shall ensure that:

1. (a)

   manufacturers have the possibility to appoint an authorised representative by written mandate. The obligations laid down in point (a) of Article 7 and the drawing up of technical documentation shall not form part of the authorised representative’s mandate;

2. (b)

   an authorised representative performs the tasks specified in the mandate received from the manufacturer. The mandate shall allow the authorised representative to do at least the following:

   • keep the EU declaration of conformity and the technical documentation at the disposal of national surveillance authorities for 10 years following the placing on the market of the EEE,

   • further to a reasoned request from a competent national authority, provide that authority with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of an EEE with this Directive,

   • cooperate with the competent national authorities, at their request, on any action taken to ensure compliance with this Directive of EEE covered by their mandate.

Member States shall ensure that:

1. (a)

   importers place only EEE that complies with this Directive on the Union market;

2. (b)

   importers, before placing an EEE on the market, ensure that the appropriate conformity assessment procedure has been carried out by the manufacturer, and that they further ensure that the manufacturer has drawn up the technical documentation, that the EEE bears the CE marking and is accompanied by the required documents, and that the manufacturer has complied with the requirements set out in points (f) and (g) of Article 7;

3. (c)

   where an importer considers or has reason to believe that an EEE is not in conformity with Article 4, that importer does not place the EEE on the market until it has been brought into conformity, and that that importer informs the manufacturer and the market surveillance authorities to that effect;

4. (d)

   importers indicate their name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and the address at which they can be contacted on the EEE or, where that is not possible, on its packaging or in a document accompanying the EEE. Where other applicable Union legislation contains provisions for the affixing of the importer’s name and address which are at least as stringent, those provisions shall apply;

5. (e)

   importers, in order to ensure compliance with this Directive, keep a register of non-compliant EEE and EEE recalls, and keep distributors informed thereof;

6. (f)

   importers who consider or have reason to believe that an EEE which they have placed on the market is not in conformity with this Directive immediately take the corrective measures necessary to bring that EEE into conformity, to withdraw it or recall it, as appropriate, and immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States in which they made the EEE available to that effect, giving details, in particular, of the non-compliance and of any corrective measures taken;

7. (g)

   importers keep, for 10 years following the placing on the market of the EEE, a copy of the EU declaration of conformity at the disposal of the market surveillance authorities and ensure that the technical documentation can be made available to those authorities, upon request;

8. (h)

   importers, further to a reasoned request from a competent national authority, provide it with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of an EEE with this Directive in a language which can be easily understood by that authority, and that they cooperate with that authority, at its request, on any action taken to ensure compliance with this Directive of EEE which they have placed on the market.

Member States shall ensure that:

1. (a)

   when making an EEE available on the market, distributors act with due care in relation to the requirements applicable in particular by verifying that the EEE bears the CE marking, that it is accompanied by the required documents in a language which can be easily understood by consumers and other end-users in the Member State in which the EEE is to be made available on the market, and that the manufacturer and the importer have complied with the requirements set out in points (g) and (h) of Article 7 and in point (d) of Article 9;

2. (b)

   where a distributor considers or has reason to believe that an EEE is not in conformity with Article 4, that distributor does not make the EEE available on the market until it has been brought into conformity, and that that distributor informs the manufacturer or the importer as well as the market surveillance authorities to that effect;

3. (c)

   distributors who consider or have reason to believe that an EEE which they have made available on the market is not in conformity with this Directive make sure that the corrective measures necessary to bring that EEE into conformity, to withdraw it or recall it, as appropriate, are taken and that they immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States in which they made the EEE available to that effect, giving details, in particular, of the non-compliance and of any corrective measures taken;

4. (d)

   distributors, further to a reasoned request from a competent national authority, provide it with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of EEE with this Directive, and that they cooperate with that authority, at its request, on any action taken to ensure the compliance with this Directive of the EEE which they have made available on the market.

Member States shall ensure that an importer or distributor is considered a manufacturer for the purposes of this Directive and that he is subject to the obligations of the manufacturer under Article 7, where he places EEE on the market under his name or trademark or modifies EEE already placed on the market in such a way that compliance with the applicable requirements may be affected.

Member States shall ensure that economic operators, on request, identify the following to the market surveillance authorities, for 10 years following the placing on the market of the EEE:

1. (a)

   any economic operator who has supplied them with an EEE;

2. (b)

   any economic operator to whom they have supplied an EEE.

The CE marking shall be subject to the general principles set out in Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.

Member States shall carry out market surveillance in accordance with Articles 15 to 29 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.

The Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. The Member States shall notify those provisions to the Commission by 2 January 2013 and shall notify it without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them.

Directive 2002/95/EC as amended by the acts listed in Annex VII, Part A is repealed with effect from 3 January 2013 without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time limits for transposition into national law and application of the Directive set out in Annex VII, Part B.

References to the repealed acts shall be construed as references to this Directive and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex VIII.

This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.