The whole EASA licence conversion is a just a crap attempt at protectionism for EU pilot jobs. Lets face it, there are tens of thousands of EU passport holders living outside of Europe. I know at least a dozen Aussie and Kiwi pilots who have EU as well their Aus/NZ passports due to one or both of their parents being EU citizens.
Can you imagine how many people would flood into Europe if if was just an airlaw exam to convert your ICAO recognised licence to a EASA one? Pilot wages in the EU are already in the toilet. Do you need them to go any lower?