Mobile phone chargers to be standardised under EU law
MEPs and the Council of of the European Union have agreed that mobile phone manufacturers will be obliged to provide a common battery charger throughout Europe as part of a provisional deal on radio equipment.
The draft directive is aimed at harmonising radio products -- including phones, car door openers and modems -- in order to ensure they do not interfere with one another. MEPs are keen not only to simplify the use of radio equipment with a common charger, but to reduce unnecessary waste and cost for consumers.
"With this agreement we will find more safety under the Christmas tree. I am especially pleased that we agreed on the introduction of a common charger -- although the Council and the Commission were hesitant at first. This will benefit the consumers", said rapporteur Barbara Weiler following the negotiations with the Council.
MEPs also agreed that there should be tougher market supervision to track and monitor products that fail to comply. The Commission is set to identify categories of radio equipment that will need to be registered before they are brought to market -- an idea based on a system in place in the US.
We've seen a fair amount of standardisation already with regards to phone charger over the past few years. The majority of devices now using Micro-USB cables, but there are still exceptions to the rule.
The obvious example is Apple, which, not satisfied with already insisting on offering its own charger last year introduced the lightning connector, meaning that there was no longer a standard charger that could be used with all Apple products.
It's unlikely the news will be received positively by Apple, which will have to find a way of complying with the ruling if it wants to continue selling its products in Europe. Wired.co.uk has contacted Apple for comment and will update this story if we hear back.
Member states will have two years to transpose the rules into national law once the rules have been finalised and electronics manufacturers will then have another year to comply with the new regulations.
Source: http://www.wired.co.uk/
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