European Parliament again calls for universal phone charger

The European Parliament is again calling for a universal charging standard for telephones to be mandatory. On Monday, parliamentarians debated a plan to introduce legislation on the matter.

Such legislation has been attempted several times, but has never been definitively implemented. Following the debate Monday afternoon, parliament will soon vote on a motion to make a universal charging standard for ‘mobile phones and other portable devices’ mandatory. “A general purpose charger should fit all mobile phones, tablets, ebook readers and other portable devices,” the EP writes. It is not known what a possible law will look like, but there is a chance that it concerns USB-C, which is already on many devices.

The resolution is mainly intended to reduce waste and to increase the user-friendliness of devices. It is estimated that 51,000 tons of e-waste is thrown away every year. It is not the first time that the European Parliament talks about universal chargers. That already happened in 2009. Then, partly as a result of the impending legislation, telephone manufacturers mutually agreed to use micro-usb. Apple didn’t put a micro USB port on its devices, but did come with a dongle.

The European Commission therefore decided not to adopt a law for it in 2014, but a delegated act in which manufacturers were encouraged to set up a standard themselves. “The Commission’s goal of encouraging industry to work has not been achieved. The voluntary agreements between various industry partners have not led to the desired result,” the parliament now writes. It is not yet known whether this will lead to legislation or whether it is again a voluntary policy.