On May 21, 2024, the European Commission published Directive (EU) 2024/1416 in the Official Journal of the European Commission, updating the exemption clause on cadmium in Annex III of the RoHS Directive (2011/65/EU), extending the exemption period of Article 39(a) and adding an exemption of Article 39(b). The directive will enter into force 20 days after its issuance and will come into force on January 1, 2025.

The specific updates are as follows:

Click on this link to view the original Directive (EU) 2024/1416.

On 7 May 2024, the European Commission published a Notice of Guidance for the Interpretation of the Common Charger Directive in the Official Journal of the European Union to assist in the interpretation and implementation of Directive (EU) 2022/2380. In the form of a Q&A, the guide answers some of the most frequently asked questions about the Common Charger Directive with a total of 51 questions, such as whether it only applies to rechargeable devices; whether products that only support wireless charging can be exempted; whether products that only support DC charging (without AC/DC adapters) can be exempted; whether products with a maximum power of more than 240W can be exempted; whether the regulations cover USB cables, etc.

Click on this link to view the original Common Charger Directive Interpretation Guide.

The European Commission launched a public consultation on the operation of Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 on 2 May 2024. They are important for identifying deficiencies in existing legislation and for developing the European standardization system in the future. Consulting stakeholders will provide valuable information for the assessment.

Click this link to check the original public consultation,  and the consultation is open until 25 July 2024.

On April 24, 2024, the European Commission launched a study exploring the possibility of digitizing and collecting the conformity assessment certificates of all CE-marked products into a database called the "Digital Solution for Conformity Verification" (DSCV). The objective of the DSCV is to facilitate market surveillance and customs control and to provide more accessible and reliable data on the CE marking of products. Relevant stakeholders, such as customs authorities, market surveillance bodies, certification bodies, notified bodies, manufacturers, distributors, importers, exporters, consumers, and managers of existing similar databases, were invited to participate in the study.

Click on the this link to view the original questionnaire, which was collected until May 17, 2024.

On 23 November 2022, the European Commission published Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2307 entitled "Revision of Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/179 on the designation and provision of the frequency bands 5150-5250 MHz, 5250-5350 MHz and 5470-5725 MHz in accordance with the technical conditions specified in the Annex". The revision comes in response to a request by the European automotive industry for the European Commission to confirm the use scenarios of the 5470-5725MHz band in Decision (EU) 2022/179 published on 8 February 2022. The European Postal and Telecommunications Commission (CEPT) then conducted a study and finally updated the implementation date from 1 March 2022 to 30 June 2023 with no technical changes in the requirements given in (EU) 2022/2307.

Click on this link to view the original decision (EU) 2022/2307.

Following a public consultation on 24 May 2023, on 20 July 2023, the European Commission published an announcement numbered C(2023) 4823 final, postponing the implementation date of (EU) 2022/30 from 1 August 2024 to 1 August 2025. The announcement also amends the text description in the second paragraph of Chapter 1 of (EU) 2022/30 by changing the original text "traffic data and location data" to "traffic data or location data".

Click on this link to view the original European Commission announcement.

On December 7, the European Union officially published the revised Directive (EU) 2022/2380 on universal chargers to supplement the specific implementation requirements of 3.3(a) of the RED Directive Directive 2014/53/EU for universal charging interfaces.

The Amendment Directive covers a total of 13 types of wireless devices, including smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, wireless headphones, handheld game consoles, portable speakers, e-books, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems and laptops. According to the requirements of the new directive, all 13 types of equipment mentioned above must be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port in accordance with EN IEC 62680-1-3:2021 and can be charged using a charging cable that complies with the same standard, where devices that support fast charging should support the USB PD protocol in accordance with EN IEC 62680-1-2:2021. In addition, consumers and users may choose to purchase devices with unbundled chargers, and the manufacturer or seller should indicate whether the product is equipped with a charger with a specific mark on the packaging, indicating the charger power range requirements and the supported fast charging protocols.

The new directive will be mandatory in all EU member states from 28 December 2024, with the requirement for laptop devices to be mandatory on 28 April 2026, and new devices entering the EU market after the mandatory date should meet the requirements of the directive.

On October 4, 2023, the European Commission published Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/2392 in the Official Journal of the European Union containing new harmonized standards in support of the Radio Equipment Directive. The "Implementation Decision" has now been implemented, and the key points are updated as follows:

• The cellular equipment standard EN 301 908-1 has been updated to V15.2.1, EN 301 908-1 V15.1.1 will expire on April 4, 2025, and the previous version, EN 301 908-1 V13.1.1, has already expired on September 29, 2023;
• The DAB equipment standard EN 302 077 has been updated to V2.3.1 and EN 302 077-2 V1.1.1 will expire on April 4, 2025.

Click the this link to view the original implementation decision.

On 17 April, the European Union published a new version of Regulation (EU) 2023/826 on standby power consumption in the ErP series of directives, which will be mandatory on 9 May 2025 and replace the old Regulation (EC) 1275/2008 and (EC) 107/2009. The new regulations cover most small household appliances, IT equipment (excluding desktop computers and laptops), consumer entertainment electronics, electric furniture and home decoration equipment. Regulations require devices to have power management capabilities to meet energy consumption requirements for shutdown mode, standby mode, and network standby mode.

Click this link to view the original text.

On 1 December 2023, the European Commission published Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/2669 amending the implementing decision (EU) 2022/2191 on harmonised standards for wireless communication devices used at or near the human body.

The harmonized standards EN 50360:2017/A1:2023 and EN 50566:2017/A1:2023 are used to cover the essential requirements set out in Article 3 of the Directive. The original EN 50360:2017 and EN 50566:2017 can be used until 1 June 2025.

Click on this link to view the original implementation decision.