European Parliament wants universal charger rules to be introduced before July

The European Parliament has passed a resolution calling on the European Commission to come up with stricter rules for universal chargers by July this year. Parliament also wants wireless chargers to work with as many smartphones as possible.

The European Parliament passed the resolution on Thursday with 582 votes in favor versus 40 against and 37 abstentions. The resolution states that the European Commission has until July to adopt stricter rules for a ‘universal charger for mobile phones and other small and medium-sized radio equipment’. This can be done by supplementing the delegated act of 2014 or, if necessary, by legislation.

Parliament states that the rules must be set against technical progress every so often, such as new USB generations. In addition, the resolution states that fragmentation in wireless charging must be prevented with measures to guarantee interoperability. Currently, Qi is by far the most widely used standard for wireless charging.

The call is also to start initiatives for the recycling of chargers and cables and to ensure that consumers do not have to buy a new charger every time they buy a new device. The 2014 rules were already supposed to promote the use of a universal charger, not by an obligation but by encouraging the industry. By making it mandatory, parliament wants to reduce the amount of electronic waste. Apple has turned against the obligation.