Thanks to a standardization law for phone chargers that will go into effect in the fall of 2024 in the European Union, Apple (AAPL  ) has said that its devices will be getting a USB-C charging port to comply with that regulation. Apple says it has to abide by the new rule, but it didn't provide many details about what that might look like.

"Obviously, we'll have to comply; we have no choice." Apple's Senior Vice-President of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak, told The Wall Street Journal.

While analysts expect the change to be global, Joswiak didn't answer questions about whether or not the USB-C port will be coming to devices sold outside of the E.U.'s member countries. He also declined to give specifics about when the switch might happen, just stating that the company will comply with the E.U. rule when it comes into effect in 2024.

After ten years in development, the E.U. common charger law was approved by member states on October 24. The E.U. hopes to reduce electronic waste by standardizing charging ports across common electronic devices like mobile phones and tablets. The idea is that consumers won't need to buy new chargers for each new device.

However, Joswiak criticized the law in part because he claims it will actually contribute to e-waste rather than combating it. He also argued that detachable cables and charging bricks have done away with the issue the standardization law is meant to solve.

"We think the approach would have been better environmentally and better for our customers to not have a government be that prescriptive," Joswiak said, quoted by WSJ.

For years, Apple's devices have used the company's proprietary Lightning charger, and the company is not happy about being legally forced to change. As Joswiak put it, the company prefers to rely on input from its engineers rather than lawmakers.