Time.news – One month after the first green light from the European Parliament on the revision of the Radio Equipment Directive, 2014/53, the European Parliament and the EU Council have reached a universal charger agreement.
The directive, the culmination of a 10-year journey, offers a single USB-C-shaped charger for mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, digital cameras and other electronic devices. The charging speed is also harmonized for devices that support fast charging, allowing users to charge their devices at the same speed with any compatible charger.
Consumers they will no longer be forced to buy a charger and a new cable for each device purchased. The environment thanks. Half a billion battery chargers for portable devices are shipped to Europe each year, generating 11 to 13,000 tonnes of electronic waste per year.
Under the new rules, from 2024 it will be possible to use a charger for all their small and medium-sized portable electronic devices. Mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, in-ear headphones, digital cameras, headphones and earphones, portable video game consoles and portable speakers that are rechargeable via wired cable must be equipped with a USB Type-C port, regardless of their manufacturer. Laptops will also need to be adequate the requirements within 40 months of the entry into force of the text.
The directive also provides that consumers have access to clear information on the charging characteristics of the new devices, making it easier for them to check if their current chargers are compatible. Buyers will also be able to choose to purchase the new electronic equipment with or without a charging device. The new obligations, according to EU estimates, will lead to greater reuse of chargers and help consumers save up to € 250 million per year on unnecessary purchases of chargers.
A long journey
“The agreement is a milestone after more than 10 years of work on this directive,” said the rapporteur of the measure in the European Parliament, Agius Saliba. Ten years that Parliament and the Parliamentary Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) have been calling for a common solution for chargers, continually calling on the Commission to act (the legislative proposal was presented on 23 September 2021).
Attempts to impose a universal charger across Europe date back to 2009, when Apple, Samsung, Huawei and Nokia signed a voluntary agreement to use a common standard. In the years following this agreement, the electronics industry has conformed to using micro USB and then USB-C sockets, reducing the number of charging outputs from more than 30 to only 3 (micro USB, USB-C and Lightning). . However, for the European legislators, this voluntary approach did not reach the objectives of environmental sustainability and savings initially established.
Manufacturers and the Apple case
USB-C is already a shared standard in the mobile landscape. All major smartphone manufacturers in the world, from Samsung to Xiaomi and Huawei, have been adopting the new generation door for a few years.
Most Android phones are equipped with micro-B USB charging ports or have already switched to the more modern USB-C standard. Apple is the only Big to adopt a different system. The Cupertino case emerged during the presentation of the directive.
The rule of the universal USB-C charger “applies to everyone, it is not made to go against someone – said clearly the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton – we are the first digital market in the world and whoever wants to enter it is obliged to respect our rules “.
The rapporteur of the measure in the European Parliament, Agius Saliba was clear: “From 2024, if Apple wants to sell its devices in the EU, it will have to adopt the USB-C charger. We were very clear with them on this too, we went to Cupertino and we told them. ”
When the legislative proposal was presented last fall, Apple filed a document with the Commission. According to Cupertino, “the inappropriate use of standards stifles innovation and undermines the goal of broad interoperability”. According to Apple, the standards are updated on an ongoing basis and “the procedure for updating the legal text will entail significant delays in bringing innovations and improvements to the European market”.
Interoperability of wireless charging technologies
The single charger directive it is only the first step and has a broader horizon. The European legislator aims to achieve “interoperability of wireless charging technologies by 2026, by improving the information provided to consumers with dedicated labels. We are also expanding the scope of the proposal by adding other products, such as laptops, which will have to comply with the new rules “had clarified the speaker Alex Agius Saliba on the occasion of the first go-ahead.
The reason for the interoperability of wireless charging technologies is obvious: they are the future. In this sense, technology companies are already moving towards a universal charging system for electronic devices (which is taking hold without any official intervention): the Qi standard. Getting to this date with a common strategy (which means common standards) is one of the objectives of the Members of the Commission.
The numbers
In 2020, approximately 420 million mobile phones and other portable electronic devices were sold in the European Union states. Consumers own about three cell phone chargers on average and use two regularly.
Nonetheless, 38% of consumers report having encountered difficulties at least once in recharging their mobile phone because the chargers available were incompatible. The situation is a source not only of inconvenience but also of costs for consumers they spend around € 2.4 billion a year to purchase separate chargers not included in the purchase of electronic devices.