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European lawmakers are ramping up the pressure to get Apple to drop the Lightning port. On Thursday, the European Parliament voted for the European Commission to either adopt or introduce stronger rules requiring a single charging method for mobile devices by July.

The lawmakers voted 582-40 in favor for the binding rules, citing the need to reduce electronic waste generated from the different charging methods across products, including tablets, e-readers, and wearables.

Specifically, the resolution calls for the European Commission to adopt proposed legislation from 2014 that would require smartphones to work with common chargers (without specifying which one). The commission can also decide to come up with its own legislative measure.

Although the resolution refrains from naming a specific vendor, earlier this month a few European lawmakers called out Apple for sticking with the Lightning charging port, despite the prevalence of the USB-C standard among smartphones.

"Sorry, but we cannot continue to be pressured by Apple, which spends more than two million euros on lobbying a year," said Parliament member Virginie Joron during a formal debate on the topic.

(European Parliament member Petra De Sutter in the debate earlier this month.)

European lawmakers have been calling for a common charging method since 2009, when the market originally had more than 30 charger types. Through voluntary agreements with vendors, the European Union has managed to bring down the number to three: USB Type C, micro-USB, and Apple's Lightning port. But now European lawmakers say they're fed up dealing with the different standards and want to reduce the charging methods to one.

"The voluntary agreement adopted by producers of electronic equipment back in 2009 has proven insufficient, with tech giants like Apple applying their own standards in this area," wrote parliament member Lukasz Kohut during the debate earlier this month. "What is more, they (the consumers) are forced to buy a charger with every new item of equipment, even if they already have one, which is compatible with that equipment. And that means higher prices."

However, Apple disagrees. The company told PCMag forcing it to drop the Lightning port would actually produce more e-waste. "Legislation would have a direct negative impact by disrupting the hundreds of millions of active devices and accessories used by our European customers and even more Apple customers worldwide, creating an unprecedented volume of electronic waste and greatly inconveniencing users," it said in a statement.

Apple also argues it's addressed the problem through the company's latest power adapters, which feature a USB-C port to which charging cables can be connected. As a result, the adapters can power both an iPhone and a non-Apple device, as long as the consumer has the right cables for each.

"Apple stands for innovation and deeply cares about the customer experience," the company added. "We believe regulation that forces conformity across the type of connector built into all smartphones stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, and would harm consumers in Europe and the economy as a whole."

European lawmakers say they also want to avoid stifling innovation. But at the same time, they want to prevent market fragmentation, especially when it comes to emerging wireless charging technologies. As a result, today's resolutions also calls for the European Commission to take measures to ensure the "interoperability" of varying wireless charging standards. The same resolution also urges the Commission to come up with strategies "to decouple" vendors from bundling a charger with every new mobile device, which lawmakers say can drive up a product's price.