Episode 6: How an EU law is made
From proposal to Official Journal: the charging cable
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There used to be dozens of different charging cables. Drawers full of cables, and none of them fit. Since the end of 2024, that's over: new phones sold in the EU need a USB-C port. How does a rule like that come about?
It almost always starts with a proposal from the Commission. Parliament had been calling for a common charger for years. In September 2021, the Commission presented its draft law: USB-C for phones, tablets, cameras, headphones and much more.
Then it's up to the two lawmakers: Parliament and the Council of the EU. Each discusses the proposal separately, amends it and sets out its position. In Parliament, a committee works on it first, then everyone votes. In the Council, the ministers in charge negotiate.
Usually, the two don't want exactly the same thing. So negotiating teams from Parliament and the Council sit down together, and the Commission mediates. That's called a trilogue. It isn't in any EU treaty; these are informal talks. Even so, most laws are negotiated this way today, because it saves time: instead of up to three rounds through Parliament and the Council, the first one is usually enough. For the charger, there was a compromise by June 2022.
Then Parliament has to approve it. On 4 October 2022, 602 MEPs voted in favour, 13 against, and 8 abstained. Who voted how is public. Then the Council approved it too.
Finally, the law is published in the EU's Official Journal. For the charger, it was a directive: every country had to write the rules into its own law. For phones, it has applied since 28 December 2024, and for laptops since April 2026.
Remember: the Commission proposes, Parliament and the Council decide together. That's how most laws are made, and then nothing passes without the approval of both. In some areas, like taxes, the Council decides alone, and Parliament is only consulted. For the charger, it took just over a year from proposal to vote. Many laws take much longer.
But can the EU actually regulate everything? Like how bent a cucumber is allowed to be? We'll find out in episode seven.
Episode 7: What can the EU do, and what not?
Competences, subsidiarity, regulations and directives
The EU decides how bent a cucumber can be? Sort of. What is true about the myth, and what the EU can really do.
All ten episodes
Now go and see who votes how.
In the European Parliament, almost every important vote is recorded by name. On openrcv.eu you can see how your MEPs voted.
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