They've always been faster, and in fact the FDA has been catching up a bit in this regards. Waiting another few years for a cure for blindness isn't too bad. Propranolol, the first major beta-blocker, was approved in Europe in 1965 but the FDA didn't approve its use for hypertension (the most important one) until 1978. That's probably a few 10,000s of deaths right there. Though that has to be weighed against the fact that they probably saved 100s of lives by delaying their approval of practolol, a similar drug with bad side effects, so its not like the FDA's increased vigilance over Europe doesn't provide any benefit.