This is point blank the example of 'effete good intentions -> really bad legislation'. It's really quite bad. One of the primary motivations cited relates to

This is point blank the example of 'effete good intentions -> really bad legislation'. It's really quite bad. One of the primary motivations cited relates to waste and recycling - however chargers represent an utterly minuscule component of individual waste. A much better approach from a waste management perspective would be to require that all electronics gear be 'processed' (like batteries). The price of the product 'pre includes' the cost of post-processing, so when it's picked up in its special recycling category, the bit of labour is taken care of. In fact - this could be applied to a wide variety of products. As for 'charging standard' - this can only work if it's led by a really smart body, nimble enough to enable innovation and adaptatio, and it's most certainly not the legislative body. The EU could 'empower' such a working group, but should not be getting into the details. Of course - this legislation will be hacked immediately - everyone will not sell funky multi-adapter chargers with proprietary bits connected to the standard bits. I don't doubt for one second Apple's ability to 'sell you more crap'. Finally - Apple uses mostly fairly standard stuff. I have a Samsung that uses a far-flung USB kind of standard I've never seen elsewhere. Apple has actually been focusing on USB-C pretty well on their own. In summary: these kinds of rulings fundamentally do not belong at the level of the legal draft - they belong in standards bodies. They will not solve the problems they are intended to solve, and will simply accrue more overhead for everyone in the EU. Solving issues of sustainability and recycling etc. should be one elsewhere and likely requires some bigger picture thinking.