The European Commission (EC) is the executive body of the European Union responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and day-to-day management of the EU. Commissioners swear an oath at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, pledging to respect the EU Treaties and to be completely independent in carrying out their duties during their mandate.
Today, the Commission takes an important step against e-waste and consumer inconvenience, caused by the prevalence of different, incompatible chargers for electronic devices. Years of working with industry on a voluntary approach already brought down the number of mobile phone chargers from 30 to 3 within the last decade, but could not deliver a complete solution. The Commission is now putting forward legislation to establish a common charging solution for all relevant devices.
With today's proposal for a revised Radio Equipment Directive, the charging port and fast charging technology will be harmonised: USB-C will become the standard port for all smartphones, tablets, cameras, headphones, portable speakers and handheld videogame consoles. In addition, the Commission proposes to unbundle the sale of chargers from the sale of electronic devices. This will improve consumers' convenience and reduce the environmental footprint associated with the production and disposal of chargers, thereby supporting the green and digital transitions.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe fit for the Digital Age, said: “European consumers were frustrated long enough about incompatible chargers piling up in their drawers. We gave industry plenty of time to come up with their own solutions, now time is ripe for legislative action for a common charger. This is an important win for our consumers and environment and in line with our green and digital ambitions.”
Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for the Internal Market, said: “Chargers power all our most essential electronic devices. With more and more devices, more and more chargers are sold that are not interchangeable or not necessary. We are putting an end to that. With our proposal, European consumers will be able to use a single charger for all their portable electronics – an important step to increase convenience and reduce waste.”
Today, the Commission is proposing:
- A harmonised charging port for electronic devices: USB-C will be the common port. This will allow consumers to charge their devices with the same USB-C charger, regardless of the device brand.
- Harmonised fast charging technology will help prevent that different producers unjustifiably limit the charging speed and will help to ensure that charging speed is the same when using any compatible charger for a device.
- Unbundling the sale of a charger from the sale of the electronic device: consumers will be able to purchase a new electronic device without a new charger. This will limit the number of unwanted chargers purchased or left unused. Reducing production and disposal of new chargers is estimated to reduce the amount of electronic waste by almost a thousand tonnes' yearly.
- Improved information for consumers: producers will need to provide relevant information about charging performance, including information on the power required by the device and if it supports fast charging. This will make it easier for consumers to see if their existing chargers meet the requirements of their new device or help them to select a compatible charger. Combined with the other measures, this would help consumers limit the number of new chargers purchased and help them save €250 million a year on unnecessary charger purchases.
The revision of the Radio Equipment Directive is part the Commission's broader action to address the sustainability of products, in particular electronics on the EU market, which will be the focus of a forthcoming proposal on sustainable products.
Next Steps
Today's proposal for a revised Radio Equipment Directive will now need to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council by ordinary legislative procedure (co-decision). A transition period of 24 months from the date of adoption will give industry ample time to adapt before the entry into application.
To ultimately have a common charger, full interoperability is required on both sides of the cable: the electronic device and the external power supply. The interoperability on the device end, which is by far the bigger challenge, will be achieved by today's proposal. The interoperability of the external power supply will be addressed by the review of the Commission's Ecodesign Regulation. This will be launched later this year so that its entry into force can be aligned with today's proposal.
Background
In 2020, approximately 420 million mobile phones and other portable electronic devices were sold in the EU. On average, consumers own around three mobile phone chargers, of which they use two on a regular basis. Despite this, 38% of consumers report having experienced problems at least once that they could not charge their mobile phone because available chargers were incompatible. The situation is not only inconvenient but also costly for consumers, who spend approximately €2.4 billion annually on standalone chargers that do not come with electronic devices. In addition, disposed of and unused chargers are estimated to pile up to 11,000 tonnes of e-waste every year.
To address the challenges for consumers as well as the environment, the Commission has supported a common charging solution for mobile phones and similar electronic devices since 2009. The Commission first facilitated a voluntary agreement by the industry in 2009 that resulted in the adoption of the first Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and led to reducing the number of existing charging solutions for mobile phones on the market from 30 to 3. Following the Memorandum's expiration in 2014, a new proposal by industry presented in March 2018 was not considered satisfactory in delivering a common charging solution or meeting the need for improved consumer convenience and e-waste reduction.
For More Information
Questions & Answers on the Commission's proposal on a common charging solution for electronic devices
Factsheet on the Commission's proposal on 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 harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of radio equipment (Staff working documents here and here)
The EU Commission plans to develop an initiative regarding biobased (BBP) and biodegradable and compostable plastic (BDCP) in close coordination with other Directives, e.g. Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD), Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD).
According to the Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP), the policy framework must address the sustainability challenges linked to
- sourcing, labeling and use of biobased plastics (BBP) to ensure their use results in genuine environmental benefits, going beyond reduction in using fossil resources.
- use of biodegradable and compostable plastics (BDCP), based on an assessment of the applications where such use can be beneficial to the environment, and the criteria for such applications.
The new initiative will have an assessment of the progress made on criteria or a standard for biodegradability in the marine environment by 2027. Furthermore, it is also related to the European Chemicals Agency's opinion on proposing restrictions on intentionally added microplastics, and on exempting biodegradable polymers if they fulfil biodegradability criteria.
This roadmap is open for feedback for 4 weeks until October 27, 2021. Feedback will be taken into account for further development and fine tuning of the initiative.
Energy Efficiency and Circulaar Economy - ecoddesign and energy labellingworking plan 2020-2024
Topic: Single market
Type of Act: Communication
Feedback Period: 05 May 2021 - 02 June 2021
See the following link for more initiatives that are inviting public feedback.
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives_en?page=1
We would like to inform you about the end of the stakeholder consultation being held as part of the “Study for the review of the list of restricted substances and to assess a new exemption request under Directive 2011/65/EU (RoHS 2) – Pack 15”. The consultation for both sections – the "Substance Assessment" (on three substances) and the "Substance Prioritisation closed yesterday 13 February 2020.
Following substances have been under consultation:
All non-confidential contributions will be uploaded on the website in the next few days.
Non-confidential information of the consultation will be also posted on the EU CIRCA website (Browse categories > European Commission > Environment > RoHS Evaluations, at top left, click on "Library").