peterh337,
with all due respect I have been hearing rumors about EASA/JAA or whoever that they will make it harder for people to convert licenses, etc... in the end not much seems to happen.
About what you mention about quality of instruction in the USA, maybe is it that in the USA flying is a lot easier and you have a lot of infrastructure there for your advantage, while in Europe general aviation is neglected? Just an opinion.
I don't know if you save money or not anymore training in the USA but flying over there is really nice imho.