European Commission: Common Charger for Electronic Devices and Smartphones as of today

Solution for consumer inconvenience and waste of electrical and electronic equipment: The Commission proposes a common charger for electronic devices

ΣToday, the Commission is taking an important step towards reducing the waste of electrical and electronic equipment, as well as the inconvenience caused to consumers by the existence of different, incompatible chargers for electronic devices. Many years of working with industry as part of a voluntary approach has reduced the number of mobile phone chargers from 30 to 3 over the last decade, but has not completely solved the problem. The Commission is now proposing legislation to establish a common charging solution for all relevant devices.

With today's proposal for a revision of the Radio Equipment Directive, the charging port and the fast charging technology of the devices will be harmonized: USB-C will become the standard port for all smartphones, tablets, cameras, headphones, handheld portable speakers and video game consoles. In addition, the Commission proposes to separate the sale of chargers from the sale of electronic devices. The above measures will offer convenience to consumers and will reduce the environmental footprint associated with the production and disposal of chargers, thus supporting the green and digital transition.

Mrs. Margaret Westeyer, Executive Vice President for a Europe Ready for the Digital Age, said: "European consumers have long suffered from incompatible chargers that pile up in their drawers. We have given the industry plenty of time to find its own solutions and now it is time to take legislative action for a common type of charger. "This action is in line with our ecological and digital aspirations and will bring significant benefits to consumers and our environment."

Mr. Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, said: "Chargers power our most important electronic devices. As devices grow, more and more chargers are sold that are not interchangeable or unnecessary. We put an end to this. "With our proposal, European consumers will be able to use a single charger for all their portable electronic devices, which will offer significant convenience and reduce waste."

The Commission today proposes:

• A harmonized charging port for electronic devices: USB-C will be a shared port. This way, consumers will be able to charge their devices with the same USB-C charger, regardless of the brand of the device.
• Harmonized fast charging technology, which will help various manufacturers not unduly restrict the charging speed and will help ensure that the charging speed is the same when using a compatible charger for a device.
• Separating charger sales from electronic device sales: Consumers will be able to buy a new electronic device without a new charger. This will reduce the number of unnecessary chargers purchased or left unused. Reducing the production and disposal of new chargers is estimated to reduce the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment by almost a thousand tons per year.
• Better consumer information: Manufacturers should provide information on charging performance, including information on the power required by the device and whether the device supports fast charging. This will make it easier for consumers to find out if their existing chargers meet the requirements of their new device or if it is easier to choose a compatible charger. Combined with the other measures, this measure will help consumers reduce the number of new chargers they buy and, therefore, save them EUR 250 million per year from unnecessary charger purchases.

The revision of the Radio Equipment Directive is part of the Commission's wider action to promote the sustainability of products, especially electronics, in the EU market, which will be the focus of an forthcoming proposal on sustainable products.

Next steps

Today's proposal for a revision of the Radio Equipment Directive will now have to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council in the ordinary legislative procedure (codecision). A transitional period of 24 months from the date of enactment of the Directive will give the industry sufficient time to adjust before its entry into force.

To finally have a common charger, full interoperability is required on both sides of the cable: the electronic device and the external power supply. Interoperability on the device side, which is by far the biggest challenge, will be achieved with today's proposal. The interoperability of the external power supply will be regulated by a revision of the Commission regulation on ecodesign. This revision will be launched within the current year so that its entry into force is in line with that of the current proposal.

record

In 2020, around 420 million mobile phones and other mobile devices were sold in the EU market. On average, consumers own about three mobile phone chargers, two of which they use on a regular basis. Despite this, 38% of consumers report having experienced problems at least once, unable to charge their mobile phone because the chargers they had at their disposal were incompatible. This situation is not only annoying, but also costly for consumers, who spend around € 2,4 billion a year on stand-alone chargers that are not sold jointly with an electronic device. In addition, discarded and unused chargers are estimated to be up to 11.000 tons of electrical and electronic equipment waste per year.

To address the problems for consumers and the environment, the Commission has been supporting the introduction of a common charging solution for mobile phones and similar electronic devices since 2009. Initially, in 2009 the Commission facilitated a voluntary industry agreement, which resulted in the conclusion of the first Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and led to a reduction in the number of existing mobile charging solutions on the market from 30 to 3. After the memorandum expired in 2014, the industry submitted, in March of 2018, a new proposal, but it was not considered satisfactory in terms of achieving a common charging solution or meeting the need to facilitate consumers and reduce waste electrical and electronic equipment.

More information

questions and answers on the Commission proposal for a common charging solution for electronic devices

Newsletter on the Commission proposal for a common charging solution for electronic devices

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2014/53 / EU on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to the availability of radio equipment on the market (Commission staff working papers here and here)

Read below the full newsletter issued by the committee

Press Release

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