Just to get matter straight:
Austria has no legal regulations at all. All airline limits are approved by the department of transportation (OZB). The handling of airline requests is of course absolutely unconnected to the paying of an MD-80, Fokker 50, Canadair Jet and Boeing 777 typerating for the (now) head of the responsible department by various Austrian Airlines.....
Regarding JAR-FCL most European regulatory bodies seem to employ the approach of "waiting for Brussels to act" while either not attending BRU sessions at all or even actively arguing against strict uniform rules when sitting there. The longer the debate lasts the more trips to nice places the guys get and the more national freedom they keep the more important they remain.
Countries use FDT regulation (our safety)as a way of promoting their national aviation industry, thus putting countries with strict rules (such as the UK or Scandinavia) at a disadvantage. This is entirely contrary to EU spirit and it is appaling that we pilots and flight crew have not managed to end this so far.