If it were up to the EU, all exotic brand-name telephone and tablet connections would disappear. To avoid unnecessary disposal of chargers.
You know it: new smartphone, new charger. Especially because a different connector than the one used on your old device is used. Mini-USB, Micro-USB, USB-C, Lightning and so on. Annoying, especially if the charging cable is fixed to the charger. The EU wants to get rid of this nagging and is working hard behind the scenes to draft a law requiring a universal connection of manufacturers. This has been high on Brussels’ wish list for years, but now it’s really being taken seriously. As a result, Apple may be saying goodbye to Lightning sooner than expected. Somewhere special, because the Apple chargers have a standard USB connector, so you can use it for other applications as well. For example, to power your Raspberry Pi Met Volumio. On the other hand, the adapter cables from USB to Lightning are expensive, especially if you go for copies of Apple itself.
Prevent unnecessary waste
What the eventual mandatory standard will be is as yet unknown. Most obvious candidate is of course USB-C. But with the inscrutable ways of the Brussels civil service, you never know what kind of compromise monstrosity is being devised. One can also wonder whether such a law is still very much needed in the year 2020. Most chargers now come with a detachable cable and a USB plug; just like Apple’s chargers. Of course: transferring everything compulsorily to, for example, USB-C would make everyone’s life easier. You no longer need to buy a special portable DAC for a specific device with a specific connection: the device simply works on any device. Including notebooks and PCs. Which, again, has its advantages. Accessories also remain usable for days on end, just like chargers. And that is exactly what the EU wants: to avoid unnecessary waste.