And a lot of what is enacted doesnt matter in practice. Allegedly it is illegal to walk down Oxford Street without wearing your sword! :-)
There is so much bureaucracy and change in Europe, that trying to integrate with or relate to the FAA system, and tip a hat to ICAO, even the most die-hard bureaucrat may decide life is too short, or a good way to while away the years to pension and then handover to someone else ;-)
The colour of the paperwork is not of interest in establishing what happened - which is what really matters