The European Union makes global chargers mandatory

Phone – On Tuesday 4 October, the European Parliament emphatically delivered the final blow to the tangled mess of chargers overflowing from drawers. Within two years, smartphones, tablets and other small electronic devices Sold in the EU will all need the same charger.

Following this referendum vote by MEPs in Strasbourg, the USB-C port should become the only charger for portable electronic devices sold in the European Union by the fall of 2024. This world-leading legislation has become a reality at a major plug-in for Apple which, in June, She criticized a text she accused of stifling innovation And cut off the European Union – subject to the choice of standards “Outdated”– From the rest of the world.

“This is the past!”

” It’s a great day for consumersGreat day for our environment.”Rejoice, at the European Parliament’s inter-committee session, Maltese MP Alex Agios Saliba, Rapporteur of the text voted by 602 votes (13 against, 8 abstentions).

“This is the past!”He had fired, during a debate a few hours earlier, brandishing a tangle of mismatched chargers, like those one finds in the drawers of most Europeans.

This obligation applies to mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, headphones, digital cameras, wireless headphones, portable video game consoles, GPS devices, computer keyboards and mice, as well as portable speakers. And this is regardless of its manufacturer. Laptops will also be affected in the first half of 2026.

Two years to take the leap

I am convinced that many countries will follow the lead of the European Union. We will be leadersBulgarian Andrey Kovachev, of the main right-wing political group, the European People’s Party, said on Tuesday. While there were still about thirty different models about ten years ago, the number of existing types of chargers for new electronic devices has already been greatly reduced.

They’re now three in number: the Micro USB connector that powered most phones long ago, USB-C, a newer connection, and Apple’s Lightning charging technology.

Once the last purely procedural approval of the Council of the European Union (Member States) and the publication of the law in Official GazetteEuropean countries will have two years to implement it. So by fall 2024. “This transition period should allow manufacturers to adapt their production chain”explained Margrethe Vestager, Vice-President of the European Commission.

Additionally, consumers will now have the option to purchase a new electronic device with or without a charger. The text also coordinates fast charging technology to prevent charging speed limitation when using a charger of a different brand than the device. With its increasing prevalence, wireless charging will also have to meet interoperability requirements by the end of 2024, which the European Commission must coordinate.

“Saving at least 200 million euros a year for consumers”

Deploy one charger “It will represent a saving of at least 200 million euros per year for European consumers and will reduce waste by more than one million tons per year.”underlined Marguerite Vestager.

According to European institutions, discarded or unused chargers currently account for about 11,000 tons of e-waste per year.

But “It is the very small visible part of the iceberg in the environmental impact of digital technology.”the French ecologist David Corman, referring to “planned obsolescence” or the weak “sustainability” And the “fix” electronic devices.

“The cord (of the charger) should not be there to hide the forest of the ecological disaster represented by digital technology”Criticize.

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