If resentment from rendering existing accessories obsolete due to changing connectors is the root cause of the delay, maybe Apple has been secretly waiting for the EU legislation so it can deflect the blame? e.g. "it's EU forcing our hands so we have to change."
I think this is exactly what is going on. The last change saw a few long threads here decrying Apple as the AntiChrist for daring to make the change, and arguing for Micro USB, which was and remains a bad standard.
