"Create an account" is simply generating a random account number, but I _just_ pushed a fix to make that "auto-happen" for you if you try to simply search — you'll be presented with an option to solve a captcha or pay for access, then get redirected back to the search after that.

The "EU obsession" for us is mostly about trying to buy and stimulate "the local economy" as much as possible, but YMMV and you're right it doesn't mean any of those things.