For years, the European Union has been trying to force mobile terminal manufacturers to implement a single type of connector for charging and devices, but so far its efforts have not been entirely successful. In 2009 the EU designed a document that some manufacturers of mobile terminals voluntarily signed committing to implement the same charging standard in their own devices, the company Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), being one of the few who refused to sign this document.
Members of the European Parliament's internal market committee on Thursday voted unanimously for a new law mandating a universal mobile phone charger. The MEPs want all radio equipment devices and their accessories, such as chargers, to be interoperable to cut down on electronic waste. This is not the first attempt to set a standard for universal phone chargers. In 2009 the European Commission, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and leading mobile phone manufacturers drew up a voluntary agreement based on the micro USB connector.
Considering the large number of iDevices sold by Apple in Europe, a commission of the European Parliament voted yesterday for the design and adoption of a law that obliges mobile terminal manufacturers to implement the same standard for charging devices. If this law will be voted by the European Parliament, then Apple will be forced to give up Lightning and 30-pin accessories, or offer USB/micro-USB/mini-USB adapters, as it does in other countries in which does not respect the law.
Of course, it will be quite some time before Apple will be forced to do this, but at least we know that there is an intention to force the company not to act only as it wants.
