Strasbourg, 15/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - The universal charger for mobile telephones will soon be a reality, thanks to the approval by the Council on Monday 14 April of the new directive on radio equipment. The new rules will apply in two years' time and manufacturers will then have one year to comply. The universal charger will be introduced in 2017, and is expected to lead to a significant reduction in electronic waste and costs.
The directive, which replaces the earlier one dating from 1999, stipulates that all devices which use radio waves must not interfere with each other and must respect essential health and safety requirements. The directive will make for better market surveillance in order to track and monitor products which do not comply with the requirements. The Commission will identify categories of products that will need to be registered before they can be put onto the market, on the basis of information submitted by the member states. This will help to improve consumer confidence. (MD)