although I do agree that concept of the EIR is quite ridiculous - it effectively gives the EIR holder the same privileges as the PPL holder throughout most of the world! - I would imagine most EIR holders (assume former IMCR holders) will simply descend through IMC to do a VFR approach? Surely the muppets at EASA realise that!?
The proposed EIR allows flight under IFR in IMC enroute (including the climb and descent above MSA). That's vastly more useful than the ability to fly VFR in VMC on top of a cloud layer, which is the privilege most PPLs have. The whole idea of the EIR is that the holder "will simply descend through IMC to do a VFR approach". So yes, the "muppets at EASA" do realise that!
As for "assume former IMCR holders", I would think an IMCR -> EIR conversion would be almost pointless. The IMCR holder is likely, according to the Introduction, is likely to get an IR limited to reflect the privileges of the current IMC rating (which include approaches). A sensible conversion route for such a pilot would likely be to the full (competence-based) IR, which would for many IMC rating holders require 10 hours of training in an ATO, plus the ground exams, assuming there is no simpler route proposed.