Companies selling a broad range of electrical goods in the European Union must conform to WEEE (the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) and those same companies must also conform to RoHS (Restriction of Use of certain Hazardous Substances Directive). This website has reports and other information on the status of implementation, the coverage of the Directives and producer requirements and provides links to additional information resources.

Latest News

RoHS Webinar: The first of a series of webinars for U.S. companies on the EU's proposed revisions to the WEEE & RoHS Directives. In partnership with AeA Europe, this event is an opportunity to learn about the EU proposals from Brussels-based EU regulatory experts from the US Government and AeA Europe, focusing on process and content. Date: January 12th, 2009. For registration, click here.

Title: All You Need to Know About EU RoHS II
Date: January 12th, 2009
Time: 11 a.m. Eastern Time (90 mins)

Program:
11:00 - 11:05 Welcome and Introduction by Chris Sherwood, WEEE & RoHS Specialist at the Commercial Service in the U.S. Mission to the EU
11:05 - 11:20 Putting the proposals in context (presentation by Chris Sherwood)
- the process
- the timing
- the institutions
- the challenges and opportunities
11:20 - 11:45 What is being proposed? (presentation by Abbie Cottrell of AeA Europe)
- key elements of the proposals
- what is not proposed
- implications for business compliance
11:45 - 12:25 Q&A (with Chris Sherwood and Abbie Cottrell)
12:25 - 12:30 close

Value Added:
1. Separate myth from fact
2. Get early warning of possible changes
3. Understand the time line
4. Get answers to your questions from Brussels-based business and regulatory experts

The Commercial Service will now probably not be running a similar webinar on January 15th, 2009, but a few weeks later. Watch this space for details.

On December 3rd 2008, the European Commission published proposals for an overhaul of the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) and RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances in EEE) Directives. This is the first step in a lengthy legislative procedure that could see the proposals change significantly before adoption. Adoption could take as long as 18 months (summer 2010), and new rules will probably not take effect until 18 months after that (2011-2012). For official EU documents including the texts of the legislative proposals, click here. Further information and analysis is available on our Revisions page.

Turkey has recently adopted a new RoHS law designed to bring it into line with the EU. Details can be found on our Countries page.

The EU may adopt a new package of RoHS exemptions in the next few weeks. Full details on our RoHS Exemptions page. The package is likely to include the repeal of an exemption (exemption 22).

The EU has published three new exemptions, adopted in September 2007. Full details on this 7th exemption Decision on our RoHS Exemptions page.

New to WEEE & RoHS?

Click here for the most recent US Department of Commerce overview of WEEE & RoHS.

Thematic WEEE and RoHS Pages

For all information related to WEEE, click here.

For all information related to RoHS, click here.

Country Information

The EU's WEEE and RoHS Directives are implemented in EU countries by national WEEE and RoHS regulations. These vary considerably from country to country. We therefore strongly urge U.S. companies to get further information on WEEE and RoHS in the countries that interest you by clicking here.

Review of the WEEE & RoHS Directives

Click here for information and guidance on the review of the WEEE & RoHS Directives.

Legislation

Click here for EU WEEE/RoHS legislation.

Need More?

For futher information and assistance, click here.

For companies seeking in-depth technical or legal assistance with compliance issues relating to EU WEEE & EU RoHS, the Commercial Service provides a list of business service providers who have track records in providing multi-country solutions and services. To see this list and a description of our Business Service Provider program, please click here.