EU Parliament: plenary in Strasbourg, MEPs to demand common charger for all mobile phones

(Strasbourg) A common charger for mobile phones and other mobile devices to “make consumers’ life easier” and “reduce electronic waste” estimated at 51,000 tonnes per year. This is the request put forward by the European Parliament that is having its plenary session in Strasbourg from today until Thursday, 16 January. Today’s debate by MEPs on the subject will be wound up by a resolution in a forthcoming plenary session. Many items are on the MEPs’ agenda, including: Brexit, the start of Croatia’s six-month presidency, the Green Deal. On Wednesday, 15 January, after a debate with the presidents of the European Council, Charles Michel, and of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Parliament will vote on its proposals for the upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe. “MEPs want citizens’ voices to be at the core of broad discussions on how to tackle internal and external challenges that were not foreseen at the time of the Lisbon Treaty”, a statement reads. The Conference should start in 2020 and run for two years. “The draft resolution highlights that citizens of all backgrounds, civil society representatives and stakeholders at European, national, regional and local level must be involved in setting the EU’s priorities in line with citizens’ concerns in a bottom-up, transparent, inclusive, participatory and well-balanced approach”. The Conference could result in treaty review and the establishment of a permanent citizen participation mechanism.
Marco Calvarese