Europe is not just EU or Westen Europe. The system the op is talking about iirc is only for free parking, so it’s not even an alternative to a meter. It’s an alternative to a meter maid making rounds chalking wheels or scanning license plates.

I definitely rented a car in Switzerland before pandemic that did not have the disk and I had to buy it at some tourist info center.

Piece of paper? In Switzerland I got a fine because the paper clock was not 12cm in diameter but like 10