Don't get me started, but here goes....
They think they do, in that they make it more difficult to get a licence, and people confuse that with higher standards. Taking Canada and the US as examples, they are more interested in ensuring that you are safe rather than stopping you.
Probably around 30% of the knowledge required to get your EASA licence is completely useless - and I speak as one with an ATP in helicopters and aeroplanes and has got my boots muddy from bush flying to IFR, and who has been on the RMT 595 committee for revising the syllabuses (who cares how many atomic clocks a satellite has?) Having established a fairly poor set of Learning Objectives, they proceed to compound things by creating questions that are deliberately long and difficult to read instead of being short, snappy and to the point. Apparently, this is because they don't think the question writers produce value for money if they do short ones. The point is, that the only reference for the schools to teach the subject properly is in the question which they are not allowed to see. It is a fact that you cannot pass the exams without a nod to the various question databases - you will not pass on knowledge alone. One of our first students, 11 years ago, was both a CFII and a consultant heart surgeon and he failed the lot. We had another from the US Navy who had a high level math degree and found that all of the answers in many Nav questions were wrong. etc. etc. The original idea was to have the exams at college level, but there is no way the procedures for these exams fit those criteria - I do wonder about all those "aviation degrees" that involve a pilot licence. This will apparently change in the new courses due in August 2020, so we will see.
You also require a PPL to start modular training - the FAA randomly inspect schools and have your training in your logbook, I'm told - nothing like that happens in Europe. Each country has their own methods and, in the UK at least, the schools administer the exams. That is shortly to change, however as they are all going on to the same system as the professional ones.
OK, so now you have struggled through your exams and are ready for your check ride. Every one is different - there is hardly any standardisation, aside from the checklist of things to be covered, and they don't even do confined areas with helicopters any more. Anywhere you go in Canada, you will get the same check ride - not so in Europe.
Your exposure to the examiner in Europe is probably around 2.5 hours, and it is almost guaranteed that they will have hardly any theoretical knowledge themselves. You will be given 20 minutes or so to prepare the flight, do it, debrief, and that's it. In Canada and the US, you will not even go flying for 4 hours while you are given a thorough grilling, so the check ride will last almost the whole day. And believe me, the check airmen know their TK.
Does that answer your question?