Today, in the European Parliament, S&D MEPs backed a proposal for the development of a single mobile charger across the EU. The Parliament is calling for urgent measures which would make the lives of many European citizens much easier and will have a positive impact on the environment.
Alex Agius Saliba, S&D negotiator on the topic said:
“The time has come to deliver one European Universal Charger for mobile phones. The European Parliament has done its utmost to make sure that after 10 years of promises the European Commission finally delivers one single charger for mobile phones and other small and medium electronic devices in Europe such as tablets, e-book readers, smart cameras and wearable electronics.
“The transition to a common charger was left for more than a decade to the goodwill of the industry. Needless to say that we will no longer accept this. The market needs a regulation to benefit consumers and avoid unnecessary e-waste. We believe that this proposal will make it easier to re-use old electronics, save money, and reduce unnecessary costs to the consumer and to the environment. The European Commission must now use all its legislative power to push the industry to develop a common charger for electronic devices, in particular for mobile phones!”
Christel Schaldemose, S&D spokesperson on the internal market and consumer protection said:
“Almost every household in the European Union is faced with the problem of obsolete and used chargers every year. It is estimated that no less than 51,000 tons of waste are generated every year because of this. Whenever they buy a new device, people also have to buy a new charger that goes with it. Whenever they travel, people need to carry several chargers with them. This restricts EU citizens’ freedom of movement, full participation in society and causes unnecessary waste.”
Note to editors:
The Radio Equipment Directive (RED) was adopted in the European Parliament in 2014 and Member States had until 13 June 2016 to transpose it into national law. It revises a directive (1999) that sets down requirements for radio equipment (TVs, mobiles, wi-fi, bluetooth etc) on safety, health protection and electromagnetic compatibility.
The common charger was a crucial point in the negotiations of the Directive to which the IMCO committee attached great importance. Manufacturers were allowed to place radio equipment on the market that complied only with the 1999 Directive during a one-year transitional period. But from 13 June 2017 onwards, radio equipment should have complied with the new Directive negotiated in 2014.
Despite the European Commission's efforts, voluntary agreements between industry players did not bring satisfactory results.
There is an urgent need for EU action on this matter. We need a standard for a common charger for mobile radio equipment to be adopted as a matter of urgency. Therefore we call the Commission to adopt the binding measures via delegated act to introduce the common charger supplementing the Directive 2014/53/EU on Radio Equipment by July 2020.
