The European Union is preparing new directives that could have an impact on Apple's future products, including "the New Batteries Directive," which proposes to mandate that batteries in electronic appliances be "readily removed" for replacement or disposal.

It is well known that the European Union has been the occasional thorn in Apple's side, and should its latest proposal pass, the pain won't stop. "The New Batteries Directive" seeks to require that batteries in any electronic device be readily and easily available for removal or replacement. The original directive was enacted in 2006, and sought to make the process of disposing of batteries easier. Though there is currently a "Battery Directive" in the EU, the new directive states that batteries must be 'readily removed' for removal at the end of the product's life. Obviously, the batteries found in Apple's iPhone and iPod products would appear to violate that rule.

"The requirement is clearly intended to ensure that users can remove batteries by opening a cover by hand or after removal of one or two screws. The producer will also have to provide the user with details on how to remove the battery safely," said New Electronics writer Gary Nevison. Though the directive may impact Apple's iPhone and iPod divisions, it is a bit vague, as it was intended to deal with the proper disposal of batteries, and Apple offers free recycling.

The EU and Apple

Such a regulation would seem to impact Apple's integrated battery design of its iPods and the iPhone, which are somewhat unique in that their batteries are not designed to be user replaceable and typically require special tools or professional assistance to remove them. At the same time however, the directives are not yet completed or ratified, and subject to both modification and exception.

The EU's Battery Directives are designed primarily to prevent toxic batteries from ending up in landfills, not to force manufacturers to develop products with specific features. Apple already offers free recycling for iPods and  iPhones. Third party vendors also offer money for dead or broken iPods, further negating much of the concern that users would throw away their iPod with the battery still inside it. The real concern involves appliances with integrated batteries that have little value at the end of their life, few recycling options, and would likely be discarded with the battery intact.

Still, just as RoHS impacted the iSight as an international product, Apple may find it easier to modify how it packages its iPod and iphone products than to attempt to work around or gain exceptions to the New Batteries Directive now being drafted. That may result in making modular, replaceable batteries a new feature, or at least further a continuation in the efforts Apple has already made recently to deliver iPods with batteries that are not glued in and therefore easier to replace or remove during recycling.