EASA is currently setting up a work group, FCL.008, to consider the issues of the IR, IMCR and glider cloud flying qualification. This is as heralded earlier this year. The TORs are not yet in the public domain. Nomination of experts to this group is under way, and from the GA community - across Europe, not just UK of course - nominations can only be made through either IAOPA, Europe Air Sports (EAS) or ECOGAS. Deadline for nominations is Wednesday.
I have liaised with he CEO of AOPA (UK) to try and make sure we make the best of the opportunity of nominating, through our pan EU organisations, the most appropriate people. Who must not just be experts in the subjects but also have the time available and the right attributes to influence the outcome. EAS will be nominating several leading experts who can cover all aspects of the TORs, including the IR issue.
On a related matter, EAS is very active on the political and semi-political front in Europe, with the assistance of our professional, Brussels-based, adviser (lobbyist, but we don't use that term). We have already scored several successes but do not publicise these until the game is over (i.e. the law is embedded) to avoid the risk of not winning the final points in the match.
Wearing my EAS hat, along with our President, we have a top level meeting this week in the UK with the real decision makers at the heart of Europe, and the topics in this thread are very much at the centre of the agenda.
It is interesting reading these threads but at the end of the day what matters is how the processes in Europe are influenced directly by the people who represent GA, mostly behind the scenes. Those from the UK come from a broad cross section of GA activity and are well informed. Forget legal challenges - it would be a waste of effort and money. Time spent understanding the mindsets of other EU countries (i.e. the Member States and their officials) is more productive.