The "European system" is an international convention (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Convention_on_Road_Signs_and_Signals https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi

The "European system" is an international convention (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Convention_on_Road_Signs_and_Signals https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Convention_on_Road_Sign...), and the advantages of it is that the meaning of the signs is the same no matter which country you're driving in. Yes, it does mean that you have to learn those meanings as part of your driver ed. When you get your license, the theory exam covers that.