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Why?
Lightning is a far superior plug than usb-c (don’t tell me about data transfer, I don’t care, I care about the durability and ease of plugging of the plug itself), I have MANY lightning cables (that I will have to throw away, how is that good for e-waste?), and in a more general sense the law basically forbids evolution. I am livid that they’d do something like that instead of working on actual stuff like forbidding mining which actually actively harms the environment, and depletes primary resources for idiotic reasons.
So Apple should share its proprietary connector (good luck with that) for free (?) and everyone else should adopt it (good luck with that too) because _you_ bought a bunch of cables ? I don't see Samsung and the other big ones investing in a whole new connector for their entire lineup to please Europe, whereas apple already has usb-c devices

They're both equally easy to use, lightning is just slower. Seems like it's just your personal case, I have 0 lightning cables and maybe 5 usb-c, it would be equally a waste to throw them away.

Also, nothing forbids evolution, usb-c evolved a lot already, you just have to make it backward compatible. I haven't bought a usb cable since I got my pixel 3 and everything works just fine

I never said I wanted lightning enforced though. I’m talking about evolution of the design of the plug, not its software specs.
Apple already moved the ipad and macbook to usb-c charging, and have stated the iphone after next would be usb-c anyway. I doubt this changed Apple's plans a bit. In fact, Apple's decision might have been the driver for the EU to move on this.

Anecdotally, while I've had usb-c connectors break off about as often as lightening ones, the lightening cables seem to just stop working sometimes, and I've never had that with even cheap usb-c cables.

Fair enough about your existing cables, but cables would be thrown away if we enforced Lightning, as well (probably a lot more, but I have no numbers on that). I don't really get the arguments of durability and ease of plugging, both cable types seem very easy to plug. As for durability, that seems to depend on cable quality and not on the USB C standard.

As for evolution/innovation, sure, that's a real downside. Seems like a quite small price to pay though because it is just about charging. And if I understand this correctly, you can still innovate and add Super Charge 3000 to your device, it just needs to have USB C charging as well, and you need to be able to opt out of getting yet another charger with your new device.

As for working on actual stuff: They can do both - Regulating mining would be great, but this is also good.

Sadly, they actively refused to work on mining IIRC. I think it’s what’s making me the more mad (and sad) really. They’re willing to work on stuff that don’t matter at best/make thing worse depending on PoV (because in all honesty imposing a specific plug does not matter, the market had _already_ chosen USB-C), but working on stuff that would actually do good, that they won’t.
> that I will have to throw away, how is that good for e-waste?

We are not most people. Most people get yet another lightning cable with every Apple device when they could just use the cables we all already have for other devices. I also have a bunch of lightning cables because each device came with one, but, at least, they stopped coming with power bricks.

> I am livid that they’d do something like that instead of working on actual stuff like forbidding mining

This is not an either/or thing. Other groups are working on doing that without causing supply chain collapses and crashing economies. It's a very complicated and chaotic system with tons of interesting emerging behaviors.