The RoHS Directive stands for "the Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment". This Directive bans the placing on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of six substances - among which there are two families of brominated flame retardants: polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) flame retardants. The first version of the RoHS Directive came into force on 1 July 2006 (2002/95/EC). A recasted version of the directive will be entering into force in the course of 2011 (2011/65/EU).
On 1 July 2011, the Official Journal of the European Union published the revised Directive on the Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) following agreement between the EU Council and the European Parliament on 8 June 2011. The adoption of this revised version is an important decision in favour of science-based EU legislation. Substances added for the safety and functionality of electrical and electronic equipment, such as flame retardants used to increase the fire safety of electronics, will continue to be used if proven safe, effective and efficient.