The dispensation given to existing ATPL holders is very relevant to this discussion. It undermines the argument that compulsory consolidation training is intended to ensure that students actually understand the material.
If the JAA have such a low opinion of the FAA system, why do they allow existing FAA ATPL holders (who presumably just learned the answers to the questions) to bypass this element of quality control? It is of course a fudge, just like the bridging course route devised for ex-military transport pilots.
This post is not intended to be an argument for making all applicants do the full JAA aproved course (although the theoretical knowledge of some of the FAA and ex-military students that I have taught has been pretty sketchy to say the least). My purpose is simply to highlight one of the more curious aspects of our system.