Technically, you don't have to stop if the primary road is clear. In practice, you will end up stopping, so it's exactly like a US 2-way stop without the fear of getting ticketed should you roll through it during off-hours.
Ah, we have that in the US as a yield sign. The problem is a huge portion of stop signs have horrible visibility so you have to stop and creep up to see if you need to yield first.
It's literally how I learned to drive in Europe. They have right of way signs, not stop signs. You stop and wait if someone else has the right of way.