Twiglet1 I don't get your argument here.... Are you saying FTLs were better under the old CAP371 or better under EASA?
Before we all switched to EASA some EU countries had no FTL rules at all..... I suppose it is the inevitable consequence of having legislation drafted by a committee of 27 nations that agreement could not be reached on adopting one of the existing 'Gold Standards'. Instead we arrive at the average of nought and best!
I know British shorthaul rules suffered as a consequence of EASA with more conservative FDPs on earlier departures. OTOH a certain British LH operator ran rosters for one fleet with the new ruleset a few months before introduction and got a nasty shock. They quickly had to go out and recruit some more pilots.