MEP Alex Agius Saliba was appointed as the European Parliament’s rapporteur on the legislative proposal for Universal Charger and will lead the negotiations with the Council of the EU on behalf of the European Parliament. The proposal presented by the Commission earlier in September will establish a single charger for smartphones, tablets, and other devices in two years.
“I am glad that I have been entrusted with such an important report. This proposal is a real victory for European consumers who will be able to use a single charger for all their portable electronics. As a rapporteur, I will continue building on my work from the last few years pushing for a single universal charger in Europe for all small electronic devices.,” commented MEP Alex Agius Saliba on his new appointment.
The legislation amending the Radio Equipment Directive aims to make a single charger for mobile devices mandatory by introducing harmonised provisions on charging cables using USB Type C as the common point and making software protocol for fast charging interoperable between brands and devices.
In the European Parliament, MEP Alex Agius Saliba was already leading the charge for a common Regulation on a universal charger. In 2020, he also negotiated the European Parliament’s resolution that strongly urged the Commission to introduce a single charger for mobile phones and other small and medium-sized radio equipment, the latest by July 2020.
“This proposal is long overdue, but I am glad that the European Commission has finally responded to our demands. For more than a decade, the Parliament has been calling for European Universal Charger. However, until now, this transition was left only to the goodwill and self-regulation of US tech giants, such as Apple, which were strongly opposing the move to a common charger,” said the Maltese MEP.
“More that than 11,000 tonnes of waste are generated each year because of unused charging cables. Electronic waste is a problem, and reducing charger production and disposal will save thousands of tons of electronic trash per year and will help re-use old electronics,” said Alex Agius Saliba.
Agius Saliba explained that a single charger could not only curb the amount of waste, but it will be a game-changer for consumers by reducing unnecessary costs and saving up to 250 million euros every year.
The Regulation will also apply to tablets, headphones, portable speakers, gaming consoles, and cameras, in addition to phones. It will also include anti-bundling provisions related to commercial offers that tie different products together in the same package.
Following the Commission’s proposal, the European Parliament and the Council will now need reach an agreement and adopt it.