Overview of legal changes for electric and electronic products in 2020/2021

This year there are new legal requirements for companies which sell electrical appliances. We have compiled the most important innovations for you here.

RoHS legislation in the Eurasian Economic Union | In effect since 1 March 2020

Electrotechnical products sold in the EAWU (the Eurasian Economic Union, consisting of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan) require a confirmation of conformity. This means that manufacturers must prove that their products comply with the technical regulation "EAWU TR 037/2016" which limits the use of hazardous substances in electrotechnical and radioelectronic products.

Further information

Ecodesign requirements

On 14 November 2019, three new EU regulations came into force (2019/1781, 2019/1782 and 2019/1784). They introduce new eco-design requirements for welding equipment, external power supplies and electric motors. The majority of these requirements will come into effect over time.

(EU) 2019/1782 starting April 2020: New requirements for the marketing of external power supplies (including certain battery chargers and docking stations).Neue Anforderungen für die Vermarktung externer Netzteile (u. a. auch bestimmte Batterieladegeräte und Dockingstationen).
(EU) 2019/1784 starting January 2021: New energy efficiency requirements and product information for the sales and/or activation of external power supplies (certain battery chargers and docking stations).
(EU) 2019/1781 starting 14 November 2019 and July 2021 respectively:Establishes ecodesign requirements for electric motors and speed controls.

New ecodesign requirements for electronic displays I Starting 1 March 2021

Regulation (EU) 2019/2021 laying down ecodesign requirements for electronic displays was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 5 December 2019 and comes into effect on 1 March 2021; however, Article 6(1) has been in effect since 25 December 2019.

Further information:

CE conformity

New EU regulation regarding market surveillance and conformity of products

According to Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 from 20 June 2019 regarding market surveillance and conformity of products, starting 16 July 2021 a responsible "economic operator" must be established in the EU for almost all products covered by a CE regulation (Article 4 (1)).

A summary of the regulation can be found here.

The complete regulation can be found here.

Low Voltage Directive: New safety standard IEC/EN 62638-1 for AV and IT products

Manufacturers and suppliers of information and communication technologies must ensure that starting 20 December 2020 all AV-IT components and products comply with the new standard IEC/EN 62638-1. This standard replaces the previous provisions from IEC/EN 60065 and IEC/EN 60950-1. The new standard DIN EN 62368-1 (VDE 0868-1) has a completely new structure (compared to DIN EN 60950-1 (VDE 0805-1) and DIN EN 60065 (VDE 0860)) and is based on a new approach to safety technology.

Die Norm DIN EN 62368-1 (VDE 0868-1) ist gegenüber DIN EN 60950-1 (VDE 0805-1) und DIN EN 60065 (VDE 0860) komplett neu strukturiert und geht von einem neuen sicherheitstechnischen Ansatz aus.

Source

RoHS Directive: EN 50581:2012 replaced by EN IEC 63000:2018

With implementing decision 2020/659 of 15 May 2020, the European Commission determined that the harmonised standard EN 50581:2012 (Technical Documentation for the Evaluation of Electric and Electronic Equipment with regard to the Restriction of Hazardous Substances) will be replaced by the new standard EN IEC 63000:2018 as of 18 November 2021. Either standard can be applied until 18 November 2021.

You can find the decision of the EU Commission here.

EU Parliament calls for standardisation of mobile chargers

According to the DIHK (German Chamber of Commerce and Industry), the EU Parliament has called on the EU Commission to standardise mobile chargers in the EU, especially in order to avoid electronic waste. The EU Commission should take legislative measures to this end by July 2020. According to reports, the EU Commission is already integrating such measures into the development of the new action plan for recycling management.