The gatekeeper is only minding their own product and customers. I don't buy the e-waste issue. The only extra thing the lightening cable creates is the very cable itself. How much e-waste does a cable with a single type of connector create? The whole thing makes no sense to me. I certainly don't see a moral problem.
I realise you don't buy the e-waste issue, but the EU does; I don't mean this in any derogatory way, but the EU cares more about e-waste than you do. Primarily in an economic fashion; waste is costly at a government and social level. Also in the EU it is an political cost as the EU public actively votes on this issue (various green parties are in government in various coalitions in various governments as well as having a sizeable influence through the EU parliament either as primary green parties or green leaning parties). EU politics is far more nuanced that US politics, mainly because proportional representation which is exceedingly common as opposed to first past the post like in the US and UK.
So the EU are, in effect, voting in their own self interest. And again it's not just the cables, but the chargers as well; the EU forced mobile phone companies to stop packaging chargers with phones as well.
