JohnGV,
Two ways you can go in UK/Europe:
If you just want a single engine CPL:
PPL, CPL theory (I think 9 exams), 150 hours, CPL course, seek work (But you won't yet have enough hours to be insurable under most employers' policies). If you decide later to add an IR, then you must do IR theory (not sure how many exams, but quite a few).
If you opt for fATPL:
PPL, ATPL theory (14 exams), 150 hours, CPL, ME, IR, MCC = frozen ATPL.
For ATPL theory, you get 18 months from first exam to last exam. From last ATPL theory exam, you get three years to pass the IR.
A previous poster has written that the total exams if you do CPL theory and later IR theory is more than 14, hence the logic to just do ATPL theory to start with. The theory is inexpensive compared to the flying, but once you complete it, the 3 year clock is running for IR completion. If you stop the flight training at SE or ME CPL, get the job you want, decide you love it and can do it for life and survive on the low pay, then you can ditch the IR completion. You could easily have 1.5 years or so working or looking for work in which to decide whether to complete the IR or not. If the 3 year clock runs out on IR completion, you would have to do either ATPL theory or IR theory exams over again if you want the IR later.
I don't think there is a clock for MCC completion after the IR.