The suitability of aircraft for IMC flying in the club scene is next to none. There is a prosecution culture for those who make a mistake and in a badly equipped aircraft you have more chance of a mistake in IMC. In the past pilots would be happy to blag with a minimum IMC fit and a portable GPS, now they are more wary of explaining themselves if it goes wrong.
There is a growing move towards the LAA hot-ships which are day VFR at grass roots level and at the other end people tend to do the IR either FAA or JAA.
The cost of fuel and the burden of legislation, lack of access to approaches etc. make it more difficult to maintain the currency so people can't be bothered to do the training in the first place.
With the permit type culture a lot of people are still doing long touring trips but VFR and prepared to live with the delays that bad weather causes. Whatever many of us IR flyers may say an IR or IMC is not required for serious touring, it is required for serious business use where you are on a schedule and as a result there is a gulf appearing between the two camps.
What everyone needs to watch is how the gulf is very cleverly being engineered, a Europe wide licence that requires a minimal medical and is a VFR rating (possibly with Night) that basically pushes private flying towards the LAPL and pigeon holes flyers into the VFR hotships. Removing the need for a CPL from the FI rating only currently applies to LAPL training so more people will be pushed down that route, the guys with the CPL will be a shrinking market as the airlines eventually take them. What we are left with is GA neatly boxed.
If you then want to play with the 'big boys' IMC flight international rights etc you have to go for the full licence.
In a few years time it will be interesting to see the look on peoples faces when they turn up somewhere like the states with a LAPL and are told it is sub ICAO and they can't fly.
Europe is in danger of becoming the 'insular' united states of europe that we have always criticised the yanks for.......