This law will differ per country. European legislation often only forces there to be some sort of law with certain minimum standards. And there are also a lot of different laws. One may be warranty, but other may govern consumer protection.
In The Netherlands there is consumer protection. You are protected during a normal lifetime for a certain product. I.e. if you buy a Plasma TV and it gives out after 3 years while a realistic lifetime expectancy might be 10 years you are still under a type of legal protection and you are entitled to get an (almost) free repair.
This protection governs the deal between the one that sold you the equipment and you. The manufacturer has nothing to do with it. This, by the way, is why stores often try to sell you 'extended warranty', something you legally do not need. And when you approach them with a defect after the manufacturer warranty has run out they often try to pass you on to the manufacturer who has expensive procedures in place.
As a consumer you have also obligations under the consumer protection. For one, you need to tell the seller within two months of the appearance of a defect. They are obliged to offer you a repair. If this repair extends the lifetime of the product beyond the original lifetime they might charge you for that lifetime extension. E.g. if a repair on your plasma TV after 5 years extends the lifetime from the original 10 to 12, they may charge you 20% of the repair cost. Also if they can prove (they have to prove this, not you) you have not properly operated the equipment and that has led to the damage, they are not obliged to offer free repairs.
If they cannot repair the equipment, they might offer you an alternative but you are not obliged to take this. You are then free to end the purchase agreement and get a partial refund. This refund is calculated on the basis of how much a comparable product costs today and then the time is taken how log you have been using it. So, if a Plasma TV breaks after 5 years and the legal lifetime is 10 and is cost originally $1200 and costs $500 now, you will get a refund of 50% of $500 if you return the TV. This must be paid in real money (not vouchers, etc.) as you are ending the original agreement where equipment changed hands in return for money.
Normal wear is excluded from this. Often situations get complex (e.g. with laundry washing machines). Miele for instance charges you for repairs for its machines but it limits the charge you have to pay during the entire lifetime of a washing machine. This also circumvents the seller's obligations.
Having said this: buying AppleCare for a desktop is probably senseless in The Netherlands as you are protected by consumer protection. It will however be a difficult fight to get your right as stores (including, I expect, the online Apple Store) never cooperate.
For a laptop, it depends on your use. If you are very careful and you know you have a legal fight on your hand to get your right if something goes wrong, you could forego AppleCare.
Come to think of it every Mac tower I've owned has an "assembled in USA" tag on it 