It's the narrative because it's true. In 2009 the EU told mobile phone manufacturers to standardize on a common charging connector. Then the manufacturers announced they would standardize on micro-USB, and reached an agreement, or Memorandum of Understanding, with the EU[1][2]. This included Apple. Note that complying with an MoU is voluntary.

It turns out there was a loophole there, because the agreement didn't actually require a micro-USB port on the device. Apple complied by providing a USB-based charging block. This was against the spirit of the agreement, but it was allowed. Regulators were not happy.

The MoU expired. A new one was in the cards for USB-C that fixed the loophole, but Apple objected claiming it was too thick, and some other manufacturers said it might be too small. Despite this the industry kept using standardized connectors as they moved to USB-C, with one significant exception: Apple. To fix that in 2020 the process was started to introduce a law that would also force Apple to standardize, and that law is now arriving.

[1]: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_09_... [2]: https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/2417/attachments/1/t...