When does it come into effect?

From the 1 July 2006 all new products which come on to the market in Europe must comply with the directive, that is to say, those products which:

- imported to members of the EU, or manufactured in member states and are on sale in the EU. The RoHS directive does not apply to those products which are already “on the market” (those already in the distribution chain) within the EU, prior to the aforementioned date; therefore they can continue to be sold.