The European Union wants to close an agreement for the existence of a single charging port for all consumer electronics equipment.
The proposal previously criticized by Apple will go ahead and by the end of this year there may even be a draft of new legislation.
The single charge proposal is ten years old but could finally move to the next stage
Soon, the member states of the European Union will be able to agree on the existence of a single charging port for all electronic equipment, including smartphones, tablets, headphones, among others.
And now Alex Agius Saliba, the MEP leading this process, has publicly declared that by the end of this year, all member states of the European space can reach an agreement to make this happen.
The proposal for a single charging port for consumer electronics is not new, in fact the European Commission presented this idea ten years ago. But it looks like it may now even be given the green light to move towards completion, even after the electronics companies have failed to agree on a common solution.
Apple continues to speak out against EU proposal to create e-waste
Apple was from the beginning one of the voices that most spoke out against a single charging solution, especially if it goes through a different standard than the one used by the Cupertino company.
But despite Apple’s protests, it’s possible the proposal could even move to legislation now. According to Alex Agius Saliba, the proposal could be voted on as of May, which would allow from that date to start talks with each member state on a draft of the legislation to be applied.
Also according to the same MEP this would be a “lost opportunity” if the European Union focuses solely on smartphones. And that is why Alex Agius Saliba intends to extend the directive to all consumer electronics equipment.
However, Apple has already warned that this EU proposal for a common charging solution will undermine innovation and create tons of e-waste if users are forced to switch to new chargers.