The European Parliament has approved new rules that will allow EU consumers to use a single charger for electronic devices.
By the end of 2024, all mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the European Union will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C port. Laptops will also be included in this requirement in the spring of 2026. Parliament adopted the new rules at Tuesday's plenary. 602 deputies voted in favor, 13 - against, and 8 deputies abstained.
Under the new regulations, consumers will not need a separate charger for each new device. They will be able to use a universal charger for the entire range of small and medium-sized electronic mobile devices. All new mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and earphones, handheld game consoles and speakers, e-readers, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems and laptops that are wired and run on up to 100W of power will be they had to have a USB Type-C port, regardless of the brand. This also applies to Apple - but in this case there may be a bizarre solution - depriving smartphones of the charging socket and switching to inductive charging.
Moreover, all devices that support fast charging will now have the same charging speed. In this way, users will be able to charge them just as quickly with a compatible charger. Here, however, concerns arise that the said charging speed will be set low enough to be supported by even the cheapest devices - so the most optimistic power is 25W - but it may be less. In addition, by 2024, the European Commission also wants to unify the standard of wireless charging.
Devices sold in the EU will have to have special markings allowing to know their charging parameters. This will make it easier for consumers to tell if the charger they already have is compatible with the new device. In this way, buyers will be able to consciously decide whether they will need a new charger for a new product. The new regulations will allow consumers to use chargers they already have. This will save you up to € 250 million a year on the purchase of unnecessary chargers. Discarded and unused chargers account for 11,000 tonnes of electronic waste a year in the EU.
