The EU hosted a meeting in the European Parliament with key players from the electronics industry in relation to the RoHS revisions, with the main focus being on phaseout of halogenated fire retardants. Apple, Sony Ericsson and others clearly stated that elimination was not only possible but was already happening.

'The Greening Consumer Electronics - from Hazardous Material to Sustainable Solutions Conference' in the European Parliament on 18 November gathered around 100 representatives from the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, as well as representatives of the electronics sector, trade associations and public interest organisations.

The event was hosted by Jill Evans, Member of the European Parliament and rapporteur on the RoHS dossier.

Prof Bergmann from Stockholm University highlighted environmental concerns over halogenated products. Industry leaders described their phaseout plans and iNEMI outlined their research projects.

Jill Evans concluded that when considering phaseout of hazardous materials in electronics it is not a question of 'why' but 'why not'?