Brussels Forces EV Chargers to Speak One Language

Under AFIR, EU operators must now report charging data in a single format, DATEX II.

16 Apr 2026

Charge point operators across the European Union must now report their data in a single standardised format. The requirement, which took effect on April 14, forces every publicly accessible charger to submit both location details and live pricing through national access points using the DATEX II format.

The rule sits within Article 20 of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation, and it follows an earlier deadline in January covering newly installed AC charging points. That deadline required support for ISO 15118, the communication standard behind automated authentication features such as Plug and Charge. Because AFIR is a regulation rather than a directive, both obligations apply uniformly, with no need for national transposition.

Compliance vendors have moved quickly. AMPECO and GreenFlux report active platform development ahead of the deadline, while national access points in Ireland and the Netherlands have shifted from planning into live operator onboarding. Enforcement, however, remains a national matter. Penalties and inspection intensity will differ by member state even though the data format itself does not.

For operators running networks across several European markets, DATEX II adds another layer to a compliance stack that already includes ISO 15118 and GDPR, with card payment rules due in 2027. Hardware cost is no longer the main obstacle to scaling across borders.

Regulatory complexity increasingly is. That distinction is likely to separate operators who can expand across the bloc from those confined to a single market, regardless of how much capital either group has to spend.