EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission - Main contents

1. Legislative text

20.3.2008

Official Journal of the European Union

L 81/67

DIRECTIVE 2008/35/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 11 March 2008

amending Directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (2),

Whereas:

(1)	Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) provides that certain measures are to be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (4).

(2)

Decision 1999/468/EC has been amended by Decision 2006/512/EC, which introduced the regulatory procedure with scrutiny for the adoption of measures of general scope and designed to amend non-essential elements of a basic instrument adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty, inter alia, by deleting some of those elements or by supplementing the instrument with new non-essential elements.

(3)

In accordance with the statement by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (5) concerning Decision 2006/512/EC, for the regulatory procedure with scrutiny to be applicable to instruments adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty which are already in force, those instruments must be adjusted in accordance with the applicable procedures.

(4)

The Commission should be empowered to adapt the annexes. Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential elements of Directive 2002/95/EC, they must be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.

(5)	Directive 2002/95/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(6)	Since the amendments made to Directive 2002/95/EC by this Directive are technical in nature and concern committee procedure only, they do not need to be transposed by the Member States. It is therefore not necessary to lay down provisions to that effect,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Amendments

Directive 2002/95/EC is hereby amended as follows:

Article 5(1) shall be amended as follows:

(a)	the introductory wording shall be replaced by the following: ‘1. Any amendments which are necessary in order to adapt the Annex to scientific and technical progress for the following purposes shall be adopted:’;

(b)	the following subparagraph shall be added: ‘The measures referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 7(2).’;

Article 7 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 7

Committee

1.

The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee set up by Article 18 of Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste (6).

2.

Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

Article 2

Entry into force

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

Article 3

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Strasbourg, 11 March 2008.

For the European Parliament

The President

H.-G. PÖTTERING

For the Council

The President

J.

LENARČIČ

(1)

OJ C 161, 13.7.2007, p. 45.

(2)

Opinion of the European Parliament of 11 July 2007 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 3 March 2008.

(3)

OJ L 37, 13.2.2003, p. 19. Directive as last amended by Commission Decision 2006/692/EC (OJ L 283, 14.10.2006, p. 50).

(4)

OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Decision as amended by Decision 2006/512/EC (OJ L 200, 22.7.2006, p. 11).

(5)

OJ C 255, 21.10.2006, p. 1.

(6)

OJ L 194, 25.7.1975, p. 39. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).’.

This summary has been adopted from EUR-Lex.