JBCE Position Paper on Amending RoHS Directive to Re-Attribute Scientific and Technical Tasks to ECHA

On 2 April 2024, JBCE submitted its position paper on the proposal to amend the RoHS Directive to re-attribute scientific and technical tasks to the European Chemicals Agency.

JBCE highlights the following:

• The proposal focuses on shifting scientific tasks to ECHA but excludes other aspects like proportionality and exemption periods. If Articles 5 and 6 are amended, the final report's points should be considered, and stakeholders should be allowed to comment on the proposed changes.
• During the exemption evaluation, regular communication between applicants and consultants plays a very important role in terms of clarifying arguments and technical information, answering questions, etc. Therefore, it should not be limited only to written communications.
• While we appreciate ECHA's role in chemical assessment, an assessment of alternative substances solely based on chemical characteristics may not always suffice at product level. Safety must be ensured not only for chemicals but also for products.
• Medical equipment in Category 8 and monitoring and measuring equipment in Category 9 are essential to society. Category 8 and 9 products represent only less than 3.6% of all EEE placed on the EU market, however, these category products still require a significant number of exemptions. JBCE therefore strongly supports maintaining the possibility to apply for and use granted specialised applications.
• Substitutes should not be recognised if they are only accessible to a limited number of manufacturers. They should be recognised only if widely used across the supply chain and accessible to all manufacturers.
• The proposal to introduce fees for exemption applications warrants careful consideration.
• JBCE strongly supports the product re-use (spare parts), refurbishment and extension of lifetime.
• The transition period should be set adequately. When the exemption is used for a critical part of a product, not only design changes but also safety and durability tests would be necessary.

For more information, please contact info@jbce.org