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Although Apple strongly opposed the EU plan criticized The European Parliament achieved a remarkable majority in the vote on standardized chargers. Now it is a done deal - the first step towards regulating chargers was successful.
The members of the European Parliament voted on Thursday. Of the 659 members, 582 voted for a resolution, while 40 voted against and 37 abstained. This lays the foundation for a Europe-wide regulation of chargers. This is stated in the official press release:
There is an “urgent need for EU regulatory action” to reduce electronic waste and empower consumers to make sustainable choices, said MEPs in a resolution adopted by 582 votes to 40 with 37 abstentions, calling for the mandatory introduction of common chargers for all mobile devices.
Parliament would like the Commission to adopt the delegated act provided for in the 2014 Radio Equipment Directive by July 2020 or, where appropriate, to present a legislative measure by the same date at the latest.”
These charging ports were proposed
The proposed charging ports for mobile devices include Micro-USB, USB-C and the Lightning connector. Since USB-C is now widely used, the chances for Lightning are rather slim. The EU will therefore probably opt for USB-C. It remains to be seen whether Apple will react to the latest EU move. Cupertino has already spoken out against the idea of regulation. In the then Explanation Apple said the industry is already transitioning to USB-C and that regulation to enforce compliance would stifle innovation and harm European consumers. The company also claimed that such a move would "create an unprecedented amount of electronic waste and great inconvenience to users," as well over a billion devices with Lightning ports have now been sold. (Photo by plantic / Bigstockphoto)
