Dr Michael Erb of AOPA Germany, attempted to get the group to develop a follow-up to the IMC rating when it met in Cologne on May 28th, but FCL-008 refused. Instead, it has flown off on a baffling tangent by introducing the idea of an En-Route Instrument Qualification proposed by Jim Thorpe of Europe Air Sports which would allow a pilot to fly in IMC on airways, but would not allow him to land other than in full VFR conditions.
Glad to see AOPA share the views of many of us about Jim Thorpe. I'm sure he's done great things for PPL/IR, but his proposals risk doing enormous damage to the interests of a much greater number of flyers with IMCR. As AOPA says, it's unlikely the airlines would accept his en-route IR, so his proposal (if pursued) will merely see IMCR buried. A cynical person might wonder if Jim knows that.