12th adaptation to scientific and technical progress of exemptions 2(c)(i), 3, 8(e) and 8(g)(ii) of Annex II to Directive 2000/53/EC (ELV) : final report

Directive 2000/53/EC on end-life-vehicles ("ELV" Directive) restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in vehicles. The Directive includes a list of exemptions to these use restrictions, which is adapted regularly to scientific and technical progress according to the respective provisions in the Directive. Following the requirements of Article 4(2)(a) of Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles, Member States of the European Union have to ensure that materials and components of vehicles put on the market since 1 July 2003 do not contain lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium and cadmium. A limited number of applications exempted from the provision of this article are listed in Annex II to the Directive as well as the scope and the expiry date of the exemption and the labelling requirement according to Article 4(2)(b)(iv)1 (if applicable). Based on Article 4(2)(b), Annex II is to be adapted to scientific and technical progress by the Commission on a regular basis. This is done in order to check whether existing exemptions are still justified with regard to the requirements laid down in Article 4(2)(b)(ii), whether additional exemptions have been proposed on the basis of the same article and whether exemptions are no longer justified and need to be deleted from the Annex with regard to Article 4(2)(b)(iii). Furthermore, the adaptation procedure has to - as necessary - establish maximum concentration values up to which the restricted substances shall be tolerated (Article 4(2)(b)(i)) and designate those materials and components that need to be labelled.