I think you are wrong - I wish you weren't but the evidence is against you. The Commission proposals to bring flight crew licensing was brought out in 2005. The DoT consultation ended in 2006. The loss of the IMCR is a fairly insignificant (in pan European terms) consequence of adopting common rules fixed at European level for the licensing of flight crews. The emphasis in terms of the benefit of common rules is in the commercial sphere. The up side is a less regulated sports licence - whether you wil be able to add an IR to that remains to be seen. As IO540 suggested, it may mean that you can only add the IR if you get the full professional licence.