I worked 15 years at a Technical University in Europe as an assistant professor and saw first-hand what the Bolgnona Agreement did to the curriculum.

And yes, neo-liberalism did reach Europe’s shores in the ’90s. I saw how that too changed education (in my opinion for the worse). Everything had to become more and more “efficient” and 100% predictable/manageable. This resulted in densely packed, piecemeal fed, education with zero breathing time, killing all space for creativity and innovation. (this correlation has been extensively researched should you want hard references.)

And instead of “first stream” money research budgets were now all funnelled off to “third stream” for which you waste lots of valuable time tendering for. So I left and never regretted it. At that time I also saw some of the very best people we had leaving for China (that's how I know about that program).

So the results you know and refer to from Europe were those that still were in the pipeline from decades ago. Sure there are always some exceptions, but it’s the meta/general innovation climate one must look at if you want to interpolate into the future. (Don’t put your money that the next Phillips-ASML will come from Europe.)

It’s exactly the same when you choose a university. Never go by its reputation, which is always about the past. Always look at the actual people doing the teaching and the climate they are in right now. Only then decide.