Smilin_Ed
I think it would be fairer to say that EASA "accepted the FAA sign off on the MAX"
That was because they believed that the FAA had done a good job. Now they know Boeing led the FAA by the nose, and EASA's trust of the FAA as a certifying authority has been badly dented if not completely broken. So on purely technical grounds, EASA may require a whole bunch of testing because they feel they can't be seen to take the FAA's word on trust any more.
Then of course there are political / trade reasons why a delay in (re-)certifying the MAX would be seen as desirable. I hope those don't come into play, but ...