It's free if you're poor, otherwise it's cheap (think 3-5k€ per year).
The European governments didn't distort the market to make universities as grand and expensive as the American ones (where the price raised 1500% since the 80s).
European universities are sad places which get the job done for relatively little money.
You're still spending 3-5+ years of your life though, and that's a currency you can't earn more of.