The European Parliament adopted today by a large majority (582 votes in favour and only 49 against) a resolution urging the European Commission to "take steps towards the introduction, without delay, of a common charger" for mobile radio equipment (mobile phones, tablets, and other mobile devices).
MEPs also asked the Commission to immediately make public "the results of the impact assessment of the introduction of a common charger for mobile phones and other compatible devices, with the aim of proposing mandatory provisions".
The joint resolution, which brought together the consensus of the main political families in the Parliament, had among its authors Maria da Graça Carvalho.
Graça Carvalho had defended already the adoption of urgent measures during an intervention at the plenary session in Strasbourg, on 13 January.
On the occasion, Maria da Graça Carvalho considered that “the issue of the common charger is of the utmost importance not only for the practical life of consumers, who are forced to buy a panoply of chargers for each electronic device, but also for environmental reasons”.
"The current situation produces a huge volume of completely unnecessary electronic waste that is estimated to amount to 50 thousand tons of obsolete chargers per year", she added.