What you are asking for is for the Europeans to accept the British good old tried and tested IMCR. Trust me it will never happen go that route and we are dead meat.
Not really. All I'm asking for is that previous instrument time is taken into consideration. Anyone in Europe could do the EIR, but if you happen to already be experienced on Instruments then it is going to be easier. This could be a french person holding FAA IR for that matter.
I hold an IMCr by virtue of of my FAA IR - The CAA exempted me from the ground exams and also the flight test due to my IR. That would be very nice in the case of an EIR but being Europe I can't see this happening. But as such I'd be happy to do 1 theoretical knowledge exam which I can self study for (plus I already have a pretty good grounding in FAA IFR ops having been IR'd since 2002), and brush up / flight test. This seems a very sensible route.
FAA tolerances are easier in some respects (needle deflection on an ILS for example) and harder in other areas (partial panel for example) so it is not "easier" by any means.
The problem with Europe is the high training costs so to make it cheaper (and hence more achievable for the majority) then these have to drop. By reducing the hours required, and consequently cutting some of the course and privileges, this seems a sensible compromise.
I would probably have already converted to JAA via the "15 hr" route, had it not been for the £1000 exam course, the year of study with mandatory residential course, and the silly "170A" . Test fees alone probably amount to £1000, so one has spent at least £2000 and a 6months to a year of study for no extra privileges that I could already enjoy in an N reg.