Beagle, 'tis all about political reality.
Gliders are regulated in France and Germany, who seem to have the casting vote these days on things European - so they decided to hell with what happens to the Brits, we'll regulate them at a European level.
Microlights on the other hand, are formally regulated only in the UK and Germany and not at-all in France. So, the French gave themselves the casting vote and decided that EASA should leave them alone - whilst the large UK and German microlight industries would actually cope with that quite well and might use their greater familiarity with a regulated environmnt to swamp - err, the much less technically competent French industry.
Looks like a French world take-over the more you look at it.
G