“Companies will also have to offer consumers a separate sale of the device and the charger,” indicated the Ministry of the Economy.
(AFP/NIC COURY)
In a year, all smartphones, tablets and other small electronic devices sold in France must have the same charger in accordance with a European decision which will come into force on December 28, 2024, according to a decree published Thursday December 28 in the Official Journal. According to the decree, it is the National Frequency Agency which will be responsible for controlling “the placing on the market of radio equipment compatible with the requirements specific to the universal charger”.
After a plebiscite vote by MEPs in Strasbourg in October 2022,
the USB-C type port will have to become the only charger for portable electronic devices sold in the EU
by the fall of 2024, to the great dismay of the American giant Apple which has until now had its own standard.
“Companies must, moreover, offer consumers a separate sale of the device and the charger and indicate this using a pictogram,” the French Ministry of the Economy said on Tuesday.
Two years of respite for computers
This pioneering legislation in the world will be required for mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, headsets, digital cameras, wireless headphones, portable video game consoles, GPS, keyboards and mice. computers, as well as portable speakers. And this, regardless of their manufacturer. For laptops, the effective date is April 26, 2026, Bercy said.
While
there were still around thirty different models around ten years ago
the number of existing types of chargers for new electronic devices has already been greatly reduced.
There are now three of them:
the Micro USB connector
which has long equipped the majority of telephones,
USB-C
newer connection, and charging technology
Lightning
from Apple.
“Thanks to this measure,
11,000 tonnes of electronic waste will be avoided each year
according to the European Commission, a concrete step forward to reduce Europe’s environmental footprint”, Bercy underlined on Thursday.