Age discrimination in the fact that there is no allowance made for working FAA ATPS who may not have more than a few years to run in their carears and could not possibly justify the huge expense as recoverable through earnings over time as would say the 30 yr old ATP.
That is an interesting point. European legislation prevents discrimination on grounds of age and also race, which includes nationality.
To succeed in a claim for indirect age or race discrimination, an individual or group of individuals would have to show that the regulations had a disproportionate and detrimental impact on them by reason of their age or nationality. EASA (or untimately the Commission) would then have to show that those regulations were a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate end, in this case ensuring adequate oversight of foreign licence holding pilots established in the EU. They might find this difficult as there are clearly better, less costly and less bureaucratic means of achieving this aim which do not put older and non EU nationals who are foreign licence holders at a disadvantage as compared with EU citizens holding EASA licences. This would not be an argument that EU holders of, say, an FAA licences could bring to bear. An easy validation or conversion process based upon experience would probably do this and in the case of an IR an initial skills test equivalent to the annual revalidation for the current JAA IR would undoubtedly be proportionate.
Talking though in the abstract is not enough and it would take an actual group to take or threaten proceedings. That requires money and some political clout to ensure that the threat would trigger a genuine dialogue. AOPA?
Since an EASA licence is non-expiring, it does not require revalidation.
It is the SEP Class rating that is revalidated, not the licence itself. I think this takes the position back to the position with the old UK PPL.