The European Union (EU) directives RoHS I of 2003 and RoHS II of 2013 regulate the use of lead and other toxic substances, such as mercury and hexavalent chromium within the EU. These directives also cover lead-containing soldering composites that have since only been allowed to be processed in exceptional cases. For a long time, the problem was that lead-free soldering composites of the first generation did not reach the performance of lead-containing alloys. But much has happened in recent years.