MJ
For once we agree. I think its probably not even the fees, since outside the UK the NAAs are less fee dependent. There's not one single EU cabal masterminding the FRA issue. My impression is that there's a mix of motives going back many years.
Until say around the early 2000s, the N-reg had operated fairly low key, in limited numbers and no-one really cared. In the UK, it was mainly bizjets operated sensibly for obvious reasons and a few high-end pistons like the Baron or Malibu or Cessna 300/400 series for owners who wanted FAA medicals and IRs.
The "problem" started about 10 years ago. The light aircraft market revitalised, with Cirrus at the lower end and the promise of the VLJs at the higher end. A few things then happened.
- the effects of the JAA were felt, including the various medical and training difficulties
- people started buying new aircraft. Most, apart from VFR light sport stuff, went straight onto the N - Cirrus, Beech, Socata,etc
- some of this was driven by better regulation under the FAA, some by the fact the many exciting new aircraft couldn't get UK TCs (TBM700, PC12, Columbia 300-400)
- people started moving older simple SEPs onto the N (PA28s, C172/182s) as awareness of the ease of the FAA system and frustration with the JAA increased
This resulted in various different reactions around Europe (I am sort of making up the next bit, but I think it impressionistically right). The German regulators got into a panic about the prospect of thousands of Eclipse light jets swarming around flown by FAA PPL/IRs. Various UK and French regulators realised that the trend was such that most of the future light aircraft fleet, other than trainers, would end up on the US register. The collective view was that "something must be done", in particular about FAA IRs. I suspect professionals like Pace and Thomas were just collateral damage, sadly.
The obvious remedy would have been to fix the bad elements of JAA regulations, and indeed this is what EASA initially promised. Unfortunately, the temptation to preserve and gold-plate the JARs was not resisted, except for some useful exceptions like the LAPL and Part MED in places.
The final irony, of course, is that this EU system for GA, that's meant to be so important that FRA operators have to be forced into it, was acknowledged to be a failure by the EASA Management Board and a group of countries tasked with rethinking the whole thing....