COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT Accompanying the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2014/53/EU on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of radio equipment
Date: 2021-09-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: Community certification, EC conformity marking, European standard, harmonisation of standards, market approval, market supervision, marketing standard, quality standard, technical standard, telecommunications equipment

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 23.9.2021  SWD(2021) 246 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT  Accompanying the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2014/53/EU on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of radio equipment {COM(2021) 547 final} - {SEC(2021) 318 final} - {SWD(2021) 244 final} - {SWD(2021) 245 final}  
 
 
Executive summary sheet 

A. Need for action 

What is the problem being addressed?  
The  first  problem  is  the  consumer  inconvenience  caused  for  consumers  by  the  presence  of  three  different 
connectors still on the market and the lack of charging interoperability. 

The  second  problem  is  the  environmental  impact  resulting  from  annual  sales  of  around  300  million  portable 
electronic devices in the EU. The old chargers fall into disuse or are thrown away. 

What is this initiative expected to achieve?  
The specific objectives are to: 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 

promote interoperability by reducing the market fragmentation due to the existence of different connectors; 
promote interoperability in terms of charging performance; 
ensure that consumers can make informed choices when buying a new device; 
allow consumers to choose whether or not to acquire a charger when buying a new device; and 
extend as much as possible the pool of devices supporting a common charging solution.  

What is the value added of action at the EU level?  
EU legislation will allow Member States to take enforcing measures when non-compliant products are sold. It will 
help develop the  EU’s (digital) single market and provide  legal certainty for manufacturers and consumers. By 
standardising requirements across the EU, it will establish a level-playing field for manufacturers.  

What policy options have been considered?  
Six options have been considered 

B. Solutions 

Measures 

Harmonise end-device 
connector 

0 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 (preferred) 

No action  
Mandatory 
No action 
No action 
Mandatory 
Mandatory 

Support  relevant charging 
protocol on the end-device 
and Inform consumers 
about charging 
performance 
No action 
No action 
Mandatory 
Mandatory 
Mandatory 
Mandatory 

Make at least unbundled 
solutions available on 
market 

No action 
No action 
No action 
Mandatory 
No action 
Mandatory 

Sub-option:  include  other  similar  portable  electronic  devices  (tablets,  digital  cameras,  headphones,  portable 
speakers and handheld videogame consoles).  

Who supports which option?  

  Option 0 is supported by equipment manufacturers. 
  Option 1, 4 and 5 are increasingly supported by consumers associations and the European Parliament. 

A majority of Member States are in favour of option 5. 

  The  broader  scope  sub-option  is  supported  by  Member  States,  consumer  associations  and  the 

European Parliament. 

C. Impacts of the preferred option 

What are the benefits of the preferred option?  
Option 5 with a broad scope offers maximum benefits in terms both of consumer convenience and environment. 

What are the costs of the preferred option?  
The costs of option 5 concern mostly manufacturers that do not (i) use USB Type C interface in their products, 
(ii) unbundle or (iii) support a common charging protocol. They will have to redesign the charging circuitry of their 

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equipment, but this impact will be mitigated by a transition period. 

How will businesses, SMEs and micro-enterprises be affected?  

Not relevant, since most producers in the sector are big companies. 

Will there be impacts on national budgets and administrations?  
No.  

Will there be other impacts?  
To  avoid  hampering  innovation,  it  is  proposed  that  the  Commission  be  empowered  to  update  the  technical 
specifications  for  interoperability,  in  the  light  of  technical  developments,  provided  that  these  developments  are 
also respecting the objectives of ensuring full interoperability.  

When will the policy be reviewed?  

D. Follow up 

Initially by 12 June 2023, followed by a more complete review in 2028 (and possibly in earlier evaluations). 

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