Can't it be simpler? (Just a whine)
I don't understand why the paperwork side of things has to be as complicated in Europe as it is. "In the country listed in my passport" you don't have the situation of "I am a current ATPL but my PPL/LAPL/SEP has expired. I'd love to take up fun flying again..."
In that other country, each certificate contains the privileges of all lower ones: ATP > CP > PP > LS. None of them ever expire. There's no rating tracked independently of the certificate itself. There are no minimum hours per year or every second year...
Compare a PPL with a LAPL. In month 1 of 24, Mr. LAPL flies 11 hours. In month 23 of 24 he does three touch and goes with an instructor. Assuming he doesn't break anything, he's good for the next two years. If Mr. PPL flies 500 hours in months 1-12 and nothing in months 13-23, he has to fly with an examiner because none of HIS hours took place in the last 12 months. However, both can bimble around in a 172 in the same airspace...
If someone goes the modular route PPL to CPL to APTL, how many written tests is that? 3x7? 3x9? (Rhetorical, the real answer doesn't matter.) The country that puts the most pilots in the air would require four written tests (1 each: PP, IFR, CP, ATP). You could even then throw in private/commercial glider and single engine ATP w/ no more written tests. I "only" had to do two written tests to get an independent German license using my FAA* paper as a core. They were almost 100 Euro each! Seventy questions about weather won't prove you know any more about weather than the right 10 questions...
One flight review resets everything. The 90-day rule and hopefully common sense help with currency for people with multiple categories/classes.
Terry
*Not Fleet Air Arm. I tried hard not to mention "my country of origin" though it's no secret. I very much like living, working, and travelling in Europe and the UK. I dislike "US vs. Europe" discussions, because different does not generally equate to better or worse. I just find it frustrating trying to keep European paper alive when the "other" is so easy. I can't imagine the pain involved in getting a European license from scratch!