Yes; it is true that the 3 major GA nations in Europe (UK, Germany, France) have happily allowed N-reg/FAA to run here, for decades.
The UK and France did, 2004/2005, kick off some "little private projects" to kick out N-regs, which were probably some private agendas run at a certain fairly low level in the national CAAs, but these were rapidly terminated as soon as the news reached somebody who knows how to spell "aviation".
EASA has got as far as it has got purely because it runs out of a bunker in Germany, and the most controversial proposals are the private projects for maybe 3-4 people there. Those people are very clever in using "safety" to get everything through. They were very clever (well, they used a tactic known since at least Ceasar) to introduce a Basic Regulation which was very vague but drafted so that nobody could vote against it (like Geldof saying "tonight we will abolish poverty" on stage).
The democratically-ineffective EU machinery has done the rest, and continues to do so. It makes one sick to watch these crooks and liars, openly on TV, lie through their teeth about what is happening, and see the Euro MPs just take it in, and clap just like one used to at communist party meetings in Czechoslovakia.
That said, the JAA PPL/IR is not impossible to do. I am perhaps more than halfway done. The 7 exams are ~ 95% drivel and not relevant to flying, but are intellectually about Grade 6 CSE level. The worst of them (Met and Air Law) are best tackled by banging the QB entirely. Most current IFR pilots will get 50% in all the exams (actually all 14 ATPL ones) with no study at all. The next 25% is hard, but with the QB it is just a matter of time, and treating it as having to wash some dog turd off one's drive - unpleasant and with it was not needed, but not intellectually hard, and satisfying when it's all cleaned up. I estimate 50 mock QB tests in each subject will take you over the 75% mark. The printed study material from the FTO is basically worthless because its relevance to aviation is less than 10%. There are "certain tactics" there which can be followed
There are some good checkride options in Spain and Greece. I checked out a Greek one yesterday; quite pleasant actually, for 2 weeks.