The news that the EU is speeding up the process of standardising mobile phone chargers is welcome, at least to me.

The plethora of plugpacks cluttering up desks and drawers when different people in a household or office use different brands of handset is something we could easily do without.

The EU also has its eye on chargers for other devices, including cameras and notebooks. The former shouldn't be too hard to achieve, but the current variation in power supply requirements for notebooks could present a bigger challenge.

You can already buy 'universal' notebook power adaptors, but they are hampered by the need to provide different plugs to suit various makes and models.

And then there's the problem introduced by non-standard connectors, especially if they are patent-protected like Apple's MagSafe.

For all its claimed advantages, I seem to hear more criticisms of the proprietary nature of MagSafe than plaudits for its functionality.

That said, the recent class action against Apple over MagSafe adaptors seems to concern the cable and strain relief arrangements rather than the connector itself.

Anyway, Apple was one of the first companies to agree to the EU's attempt to introduce standardised chargers for data-enabled phones in 2010, so here's hoping the company will support further efforts in this area.