How do playoffs make it more of a meritocracy, if one team has a much better record over 38 games but comes off second best in the 39th? The ultimate test of ability is a season and not a single game.
The FL has a playoff system to increase competitiveness of the league, but it is at the cost of some meritocracy, all the teams know the deal at the start of the season and even then the top 2/3 are promoted directly. A CL/Europa playoff could make things very interesting, but it still depends on where the 'break points' in the league are. Larger point gaps are more likely over a longer season, there is nothing to say 5th and 6th could be wrapped up and as they are both in a playoff game already with nothing else to play for but interchanging league position.
It's a trade off and playoffs undoubtably make for thrilling viewing when the big prizes are at stake, but they shouldn't be deciding the ultimate champions.