Directive 2011/65/EU requires Member States to ensure that electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market does not contain lead.

Point 24 of Annex III to Directive 2011/65/EU exempted the use of lead in solders for the soldering to machined through hole discoidal and planar array ceramic multilayer capacitors until 21 July 2016. The Commission received an application for renewal of this exemption in relation to categories 1 to 7 and 10 before 21 January 2015, in accordance with Article 5(5) of Directive 2011/65/EU.

Discoidal and planar array capacitors are derivations of multi-layer ceramic capacitors. They are specialist capacitors used in electromagnetic interference filters and electromagnetic interference filtered connectors for high end applications, where the elimination of electrical interference is critical. Typical applications for assemblies incorporating those components include professional audio equipment, maritime monitoring and video surveillance systems.

Lead-containing solders used in discoidal and planar array capacitors provide the combination of a suitable melting point and ductility. The ductility of that solder avoids cracking of the ceramic layer during and after soldering due to thermal mismatch between the ceramic capacitor and the copper pin.

Currently, the substitution of lead is scientifically and technically impracticable.

Since for the applications concerned in categories 1 to 7 and 10, no sufficiently reliable alternatives are available on the market or are likely to be available on the market in the near future, validity period until 21 July 2021 is justified. For categories other than categories 1 to 7 and 10, the existing exemption is valid as per the validity periods set out in the second subparagraph of Article 5(2) of Directive 2011/65/EU.

Directive 2011/65/EU should therefore be amended accordingly,