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 Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment(1), and in particular Article 5(1)(a) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Directive 2011/65/EU prohibits the use of lead in electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market.
(2) The substitution or elimination of lead in alloys as a superconductor or thermal conductor, used in cryo-cooler cold heads and/or in cryo-cooled cold probes and/or in cryo-cooled equipotential bonding systems, in medical devices (category 8) and/or in industrial monitoring and control instruments is currently not possible. Currently there are no viable lead-free devices available on the market for this application.
(3) Time is required for reliability testing and product registration of alternative solutions.
(4) Directive 2011/65/EU should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: