The European Parliament gave its final green light on Tuesday to the obligation of an identical charger for all smartphones, tablets and other consoles.
After this plebiscite vote by MEPs in Strasbourg, the USB-C type port will have to become the only charger for portable electronic devices sold in the EU by autumn 2024, despite strong opposition from Apple.
"It's a great day for consumers, a great day for our environment", rejoiced, in the hemicycle of the European Parliament, Maltese Labor MEP Alex Agius Saliba, rapporteur for the text voted by 602 votes (13 votes against, 8 abstentions).
Laptops affected from early 2026
“This is the past!
“, he had launched, during a debate a few hours earlier, waving a tangle of heterogeneous chargers, such as one finds in the drawers of most Europeans.
Read alsoiPhone: why the single charger should not replace the Lightning port before 2024
This obligation will apply to mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, headphones, digital cameras, wireless headphones, portable video game consoles, GPS devices, computer keyboards and mice, as well as than portable speakers.
And this, regardless of their manufacturer.
Laptops will also be affected from the beginning of 2026.
By its vote, the European Parliament validated the agreement reached at the beginning of June with the Member States, after a decade of attempts to try to impose this single charger, to the great displeasure of Apple, the main opponent of such pioneering legislation in the world.
“I am convinced that many countries will follow the example of the EU.
We will be the leader, ”said Bulgarian Andrey Kovachev, of the main political group EPP (right).
