The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to back EU legislation that will standardize mobile chargers on the type of cable they use, paving the way for the law to be applied by the end of 2024.
The vote of 602 in favor of the directive and just 13 against is hardly a surprise, as the European Parliament has been pushing for the measure for over a decade.
More types of portable consumer electronic devices, including laptops, should be included in the common chargers rules.
It isn't law yet. The Council still needs to approve it, but it's a formality because of the political agreement reached this summer.
Once the Council has signed off, the directive will enter into force 20 days after publication in the EU's Official Journal and Member states will have a year to apply them. When all mobile phones, tablets and cameras are sold in the EU, they will have to have a type-C charging port.
When the obligation will extend to laptops, there will be another deadline.
Products placed onto the EU's market before the date of the directive's application won't fall in scope, so we'll have to see if there is a scramble by manufacturers to flush out existing non-USB-C regional inventory by dumping it onto the market ahead of time
There will be a lot of interest in what Apple does with its products, and how quickly it moves to adopt the standard for charging mobile devices.
All new mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers, e-readers, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems, earbuds and laptops that are rechargeable via a wired cable, regardless of their manufacturer, are included.
All devices that support fast charging will have the same charging speed, which will allow users to charge their devices at the same speed.
The EU's executive will have to come up with a proposal to harmonize interoperability requirements for the tech by the end of the year, as adoption of wireless charging increases, according to the European Parliament.
Reducing the environmental impact of consumer electronics purchases while helping buyers save up to 250M a year on unnecessary charger purchases is expected to be achieved by the EU.
The aim of the directive is to make it easier for consumers to know if their existing chargers are compatible with new devices.
The idea is to make it easier for consumers to make an informed choice about whether or not to buy a new product. There is a chance that consumers will buy a new charger just in case, or that they will be pressured to buy another one by retailers looking to make more money.
The Commission says that about 11 000 tonnes of e-waste is dumped in the EU every year. It will be interesting to see if there is a cut in e-waste because of the directive.
Increased interoperability between gizmos could increase consumption of portable electronics. We all agree that unused chargers that are box-fresh before being binned are a sad kind of e-waste.
Europe is pushing for a common charging station.
This summer, a trio of US lawmakers seized on the EU directive to push for America to follow suit and adopt a standard for common charging.
Europe seals deal on USB Type-C common charger rules
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