The (long) wait is over, after a process that has lasted for years, the European Council and the European Parliament have completed the insertion of dots on i’s and USB-C thus becomes a charging port that must be used by all devices in the common European space. A long-awaited regulation that will lead to significant improvements for both citizens and the environment.

The agreement was communicated via the European Parliament’s news website, and the communication also informs technology manufacturers of the deadline for using all devices that maintain sales in the European Union as a charging port after the deadline. Or rather dates sinceDifferent deadlines have been set depending on the type of facility.

More specifically, we can read the following on the European Parliament’s website:

«Under the new rules, consumers will no longer need a different charger and cable each time they buy a new device, and will be able to use a single charger for all their small and medium-sized portable electronic devices. Mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, headphones, digital cameras, headphones and earphones, portable game consoles and portable speakers that can be recharged via cable must be equipped with a USB Type-C port, regardless of the manufacturer. Laptops will also have to meet the requirements 40 months after entry into force.«

As you can see, USB-C is standardized as a charging port not only for smartphones, which was the most expected change. Tablets, eReader, headphones, digital cameras (we understand that photo and video), headphones, portable consoles and speakers They will also need to use USB-C to charge the batteries. Attention, yes, it is important to specify here that we are talking about a charging port, not a power supply, from which we can deduce that small and medium electronic devices without batteries, and therefore without autonomy, will be able to continue to use the charging port preferred by their manufacturers. .

Formal approval has not yet taken place, although in this case we are already talking about a process that we know for sure will continue. This will take place after the institutions’ summer breakand will then be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, a process similar to that published in the BOE in Spain. It will enter into force 20 days later on the day of its publication and its provisions will be binding 24 months later. So we can expect approval and publication in mid-September that the hours will start counting in October and therefore that USB-C has been a universal charger in Europe since the autumn of 2024.

It is true that this may seem like too long, but we must keep in mind that the deadlines that many companies in the technology sector work with are at least one year and in many cases even longer. With this 24-month moratorium Europe is making it easier for technology companies to adapt proposals that will see light from the second half of 2024 to this new standard. A two-year term is a regular reserve. We are now seeing this with the implementation of USB-C as a charging port, but it is also a term that was given at the time to adapt to GDPR.

The new standard not only states that USB-C is a universal charging port in Europe, also emphasizes fast charging systemsin order to determine the common speed. In this way, and as with conventional chargers, fast chargers should also be usable with devices from different manufacturers. This measure can hamper the development of fast charging technologies, but on the other hand can also make a decisive contribution to their implementation.

This rule does not surprise us, more than a month ago we told you that the procedures are very advanced and it was clear that Parliament and the Commission wanted to close the matter this year. The original plans were to complete this process and introduce USB-C as the only charging port in 2020, but this was eventually delayed due to the pandemic.

Now, of course, all eyes are on Cupertino and his Numantine defense of Lightning Harbor.. Apple will continue to be able to use its port with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 instead of USB-C. . However, unless they choose to take drastic action only wireless charging and that the Lightning port is for data use only. It seems a bit extreme, but let’s not forget we’re talking about Apple.