Quote:European Union co-legislators have reached provisional agreement on a common charging solutions for smartphones, laptops, tablets and other small and medium sized electronics — some 15 different categories in all — agreeing that, by autumn 2024, USB Type C will be the common charging port for in scope devices.

Laptop makers have been given a little longer to implement the common charging solution on account of different power charging characteristics — with 40 months after the rules enter into force to adapt their kit.
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The provisional agreement between the European Parliament and Council paves the way for a formal vote later this summer to approve the amendment to the EU’s Radio Equipment Directive — but the bloc’s co-legislators reaching a compromise is usually the crux moment for EU lawmaking.
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The parliament has been pushing for common charger rules for over a decade, arguing it’s a key step to shrink the volume of e-waste generated by consumers in the bloc. Unused chargers are estimated to represent about 11,000 tonnes of e-waste annually, per EU lawmakers.

Quote:“The objective of the Commission’s Ecodesign proposal is to make sustainable products the norm on the EU market and reduce their overall environmental and climate impacts,” the EU’s executive writes, adding: “The ‘take-make-use-dispose’ model can be avoided, and much of a product’s environmental impacts is determined at the design stage.”
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Expanded EU ecodesign rules will apply equally to all products placed on the market, regardless of country of manufacture or importation, meaning gizmos made in Asia or the US that are intended for sale within the bloc won’t be able to escape compliance with the sustainability requirements.