IO540's earlier rant warrants a short reply; it demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of the work that is done in the UK by both a large number of CAA staff who exercise their powers to administer and enforce regulation, and a very small number of FAA staff, who have no powers to speak of, and have no interest in small aircraft other than in a very few limited circumstances. I deal regularly with both sets of people, and I'm very glad to confirm that IO540 is not firing on all cylinders, on this one.
That is simply false, Mr Hamster. The CAA does close to no enforcement in the UK, short of blatent stuff like obvious breaches of AOC requirements and only when a nearby AOC holder complains.
The evidence for the level of enforcement is on their website. Do a search on 'prosecutions' and you will find a few PDF lists. This is how it should be; the vast majority of pilots obey the regs.
I would agree the FAA does little enforcement in Europe (of pilots; they do regularly turn over FAA maintenance facilities over here) but the CAA does just as little.