Every home has an abundance of charging cables, as so many of our day-to-day items need chargers; phones, laptops, headphones, the list is endless.

To make consumers’ lives simpler and reduce e-waste, the EU Council approved the Common Charger Directive in 2022 and began the rollout at the end of 2024.

What is the EU Common Charger Directive?

This directive standardises USB-C as the universal charging port for all new small and medium handheld tech sold in the EU. This includes mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones, headsets, video game consoles, portable speakers, e-readers, keyboards, mice and portable navigation systems.

Now, as of the 28th of April 2026, this will also include laptops.

Why is there an EU Common Charger Directive?

There are a number of reasons why the EU is implementing this directive across all portable tech and laptops:

1. Convenience: You will be able to charge all your tech with one USB-C charger.

2. Reduces e-waste: Discarded chargers make up 11,000 tonnes of e-waste per year, so you’re helping the environment.

3. Consistency: You will have a consistent fast charging speed across all your devices.

What does the Common Charger Directive mean when buying a new laptop?

The next time you buy a new laptop, it will most likely be sold without a charger/power source in the box. The charging port will only work with USB-C chargers, so your previous charger may or may not be compatible.

How will I know if the laptop has a charger in the box?

The laptop packaging will now require a new label to indicate whether or not a charger is included. Online, we will have information in the device’s specifications tab under "Box contents", we will include an image of the box contents in the image gallery and recommend compatible chargers in add-ons. In-store it will be displayed in the device description and our colleagues will be on hand to answer any of your questions.

How will I know what laptop charger to buy?

Don’t think you can just use your phone charger for your laptop. A phone charger is roughly 15W, and a laptop needs a minimum of 65W of power. This increases if you’re using a gaming laptop or a high-performance laptop. So, if you use a phone charger to charge a laptop, you’re at risk of frying the charger and potentially damaging your laptop too.

When shopping with Currys, either online or in-store, we will clearly identify laptops that require a separate power source and specify the recommended wattage.

Some laptop brands, such as HP and Lenovo, have warned that buying certain third-party chargers may impact their manufacturer’s warranty, but we stock both brands’ chargers.

What should I do with my old laptop charger?

If you have no use for your old laptop and/or charger, you can bring it to your local Currys store, and we will recycle it for you for free.

Need more information? You can read more on the European Commission website or on ComReg.ie.