Council of the European Union approves directive on universal phone charger

On Monday, the Council of the European Union finally approved a directive that should reduce the diversity of, among other things, phone chargers from 2017. The Council is thus following the European Parliament, which already rallied behind this last month.

The directive enables the European Commission to set requirements within Europe for, for example, telephone chargers. This makes the arrival of a universal charger for all mobile devices a step closer. According to some MEPs, this is desperately needed. GroenLinks, for example, believes that Apple’s Lightning interface differs considerably from the rest, so that the consumer is the victim.

The Directive is part of the harmonization of existing Member States’ legislation on the use of radio equipment in products such as mobile telephones. The aim is, among other things, to reduce the amount of electronic waste. In addition, it should prevent ‘unnecessary costs’ for the business community, governments and end users. The European Parliament has previously called the incompatibility of chargers for mobile devices “particularly annoying for consumers”.

The directive, which was adopted unchanged by the Council on Monday, obliges member states to come up with national legislation in line with this within two years. Manufacturers will also have another year to meet the new requirements for their products, which means that the consequences will be visible from 2017 onwards.

There is, however, one caveat: the European Commission has yet to implement the plans. The committee may decide not to, but with the support of the European Parliament and the Council for the directive, that chance seems very slim.