No wonder the French are doing their own IR, bypassing EASA completely
Obviously they have the inside track on happenings inside EASA. And if Goudot screws them around, his post-EASA career back home will mirror that of Dubcek.
I suspect we will see a lot more of similar national IRs appearing, because most of the civilised European countries do not want to trash their IFR community.
I've
started on the JAA IR anyway, on the basis that it is an insurance policy whose actual cost is the difference between it, and the cost of whatever option may finally emerge. And the latter is bound to involve some exams and some flying time anyway, and I can take advantage of the 15hr ICAO IR to JAA IR conversion whose flying cost, on the basis that I fly a lot for currency anyway, is not a lot more than the cost of the FTO instructor (£80/hr).
Nothwithstanding this insurance policy, my belief is that an alternative will emerge before 2014, and it won't be any bilateral treaty. It will most likely be a de facto collapse of the EASA anti-N-reg initiative, caused by parallel initiatives, conversion options, etc.