Few Cloudy - you're describing what it's supposed to be all about - and I'm 110% in support of that theoretical position.
Unfortunately, the reality is somewhat different.
You have the French banning anyone over 55 from their airspace; you have the UK CAA refusing to accept aircraft from other JAA nations until expensive (and extensive) modifications have been carried out; and you have the Germans insisting on LBA validations.
Then there were those exams last year or the year before devised by the French where there was a 100% fail rate.
Flying is largely practical - why make it more complex than it really is? Let's adopt some of the US' approach and go with a much more practical approach - as Wanula Dreaming suggests.