Sounds like Apple are out of touch with how this game works. Apple, the EU took away your lightning port. They are not afraid to take the entire device away. Playing chicken with your best selling devices cannot end well for you.
Apple has far more leverage than the EU in this case. Millions of unhappy EU consumers are a much more powerful motivator than a few billion lost in revenue for a company as rich as Apple.
Apple would recoup most of the lost revenue through black market and secondhand sales anyway.