27/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - Revised WEEE directive on dangerous substances is adopted. On Friday 27 May, the Council of the EU formally adopted the directive restricting the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The revised directive, which extends the scope of the text to goods, such as mobile phones, fridges and electronic toys, and also to cables and spare parts, will come into effect two years after publication in the Official Journal of the EU, and member states will have 18 months to transpose it into national law. Provision is made for a number of transitional periods: monitoring and control devices and medical devices will be covered in three years, in vitro medical devices in five years and industrial control appliances in six years. (A.N./transl.rt)