Apple didn't follow that Memorandum, the EU got pissed, so now we reached the "or else" part (it took quite some time considering the Memorandum was more than 10 years ago).
[1] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/MEMO_1...
Just to add a step: Samsung got pissed, and told the EU either regulate, or we do our own thing too like Apple.
[1] https://www.amazon.de/Original-Samsung-USB-lDatenkabel-ECC1D...
“Of course” also because Apple's 30-pin connector was only approved for purchase and use by certified (read: paying) third parties.
But yeah, I absolutely do not miss those 30-pin connectors.
Replying to sibling: that 30-pin connector predates the Memorandum. It's exactly such chargers that the EU wanted to regulate at the time. Every company had their own incompatible charger.
So all their ads in the EU would have to show a stupid dongle hanging off the phone, like a vestigial tail.
If that original legislation was binding, we likely never would have gotten USB-C in the first place.
So this is a significant difference.
As a EU mandate implies that organizations can be prosecuted for ignoring it.